Funhouse
by BlackPetals23
Summary: Four friends rent a run-down house on the outskirts of a small town, and on the inside of forests and corn fields with no one to call neighbor but the owner of the ancient house sitting at her kitchen a mile away. But there's just one problem, they may have rented the house…but someone else checked in first.
1. It'll Do

**STH © SEGA**

**Sarah and Clarisse belong to me, BlackPetals23.**

* * *

><p><strong>Summary:<strong>

**Four friends rent a run-down house on the outskirts of a small town, and on the inside of forests and corn fields with no one to call neighbor but the owner of the ancient house sitting at her kitchen a mile away. But there's just one problem, they may have rented the house…but someone else checked in first. **

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter One:**

**It'll Do**

Amy breathed in the old wooden smell as she plopped her suitcase down next to the stairs. "Isn't this place wonderful, Sarah?"

The lime green hedgehog that pulled a giant, blue suitcase into the house with her, groaned in response to Amy. "Sure, thing. Just as soon as I get this up to your room, we can unload the rest of the stuff."

Amy put her hand on the cold railing of the staircase. "I wonder how it will all look when we get up there."

"There will probably be spiders, creaking floorboards—not to mention this revolting smell."

The females turned, with blank stares, to the ebony hedgehog leaning against the doorway. His red eyes searched the first floor of the house. "Why rent this place for a week?"

"Because there was no place cheaper, Shadow," Amy answered.

"How about a hotel, Ames?" Sonic rushed in with some bags, making the leaves outside to blow in. "It's just a week for a Halloween party."

"Sonic, we drove from West Mobius to here—Center Mobius—and I'm not going to get a hotel in the richest part of Mobius!" Amy threw her hands up, "At least one that isn't four hundred per night, per person."

Shadow hummed. "I suppose…" He glanced around the old walls. "It will do."

"You're absolutely right, Shadow!" Amy encouraged with a grin. "And we'll help it make do by making it feel like home."

"We all live in different places," Sarah stated in confusion as she stood there with her arms slumped to her hips.

Sonic wrapped an arm around her and winked with his signature smile and thumbs up. "Nothing we can't handle!"

~~~.~~~

As usual, Sonic was right.

There was a bathroom upstairs along with two bedrooms. An old lady owned the house and rented it to the group for the friends to use while they had planned on going to Rouge's Halloween party at the club. Originally, they had no place to stay and like Amy said, they weren't about to pay so much for a hotel for each person. Thankfully, Amy came to the rescue and saw the house for rent while on a scenic route through town with Rouge.

Sarah and Amy would share a bed and Sonic claimed the other room. Shadow was stuck downstairs on the couch but, surprisingly, he hadn't complained too much.

Amy hopped down the stairs with a happy smile on her face. Shadow raised his eyebrow at her. "A Clarisse Jens called about the house to see if we were settling in okay."

"Oh!" Amy skidded to the phone on the wooden bookcase by the stairs and picked it up. "I'll call her back. What did you say?" she asked as she dialed the number.

Clarisse was an old raccoon Mobian who owned the house. She grew up in it but now used it as a rental while she lived on her farm with some dogs.

"That this house should be under construction."

"Shadow!" Amy hissed, her ears pinning to the back of her head. Her left hand fumbled with the hem of her original red dress while the phone rang two times until a raspy voice answered.

"_Hello?"_

"Ms. Jens! Thanks so much for calling!" Amy said with glee. "This house is amazing! Who else lived in it before you?"

A laugh on the other end made the pause longer between the two. _"My goodness, Amy, you sure are on top of things over there. I'd have figured you to leave when you saw the old thing. That's why I completely agreed with one of your friends—Shadow, was his name, I believe." _

"Oh, I apologize for him, Ms. Jens," Amy giggled nervously. "Shadow's just…" She paused to stare at him while he gazed back calmly, "…Shadow."

Clarisse laughed in response. _"Please, dear, call me Clarisse. I haven't been called Ms. Jens in years. Now, I must tell you, that house has been passed down for many generations and is in need of some TLC. So, be careful. The pipes still work; it's the floorboards that get to me. Nearly broke my ankle during the summer while working in the basement."_

"Basement?" Amy tilted her head, turning away from Shadow.

"_Yes. Not much for you to do down there but breathe in dust. And I must warn you, the heater is broken in that house and you might need to get some wood to throw in the stove. I'm sure you've seen it already, it's the one in the living room."_

Amy turned to see the giant stove with fancy swirls indented on the door and a wooden handle. "I do now. I'm sure we can handle it, Ms. Jens—I mean, Clarisse."

"_Nothing much to worry about except that you might hear howling at night."_

Amy's fingers turned to ice, "W-What?"

Clarisse laughed again at the young girl. _"Don't fret, Amy! I have a dog that's always wondering about, losing his way through the woods—his name's Barley. I never let my dogs inside the house because they shed and stink—though I do love 'em to death. Barley tends to wander and if he gets lost or lonely he howls like no other. He's a black lab if you see him, and if you do see him, just grab him by the collar and drag him back down here so I can put him in the kennel."_

"How many dogs do you have?" Amy leaned against the counter, facing Shadow again but the ebony hedgehog stood up and walked outside.

"_Just three. Barley, Kicks and Tiny Tim. Kicks is also a black lab but has a white spot on his chest. Just be careful of him—he's more playful than Barley and he'll jump on you without a second thought. Tiny Tim is a golden retriever though that I got this last fall. He stays in the barn, so, you won't be seeing much of him unless you come over."_

"Well, maybe so," Amy smiled. "Your house is only a mile down the road. Nothing but corn fields and woods separating us."

"_All of which belonged to my great-great-great-great granddaddy—and now, belongs to me."_

"So, you're the only one left?"

"_Nah, I have a niece down in South Mobius and two sons in East Mobius. Some grandchildren here and there," Clarisse laughed again, though it was mixed with a few coughs. "Ugh, well, Amy, I'm sure you want to see the rest of the house and go into town. It's only a short ride and you can walk to my house and borrow my old clunker if you want. You'll need food even if it is for a week."_

"Sounds like a plan!"

"_Oh, and one more thing, if you go out in the woods behind the house, bring a flashlight. It's always so dark whenever the boys go and get wood for me every summer—even in daylight."_

Amy kept her grin on her muzzle at the thought of exploring this new place. "Okay, I'll see ya, Clarisse."

"_Soon."_

Amy hung up and with a cheery bounce to her step, she headed outside. Sitting on the steps was Shadow, bundled up in a black trench coat as the autumn breeze whipped his face. Even for the Ultimate Life Form things got cold. Amy took a seat beside him in only her dress.

"Hi."

Shadow was, of course, silent.

Amy frowned. "Are you excited for Rouge's party?"

"You asked me this question when I got in the car. Then again when we got to Center Mobius. Then again when we got to Clarisse's house. Then—"

"Okay, okay." Amy narrowed her eyebrows. "You want to go for a walk?"

Shadow gave her a look that said she was insane. "Even for me, Amy, it's cold." He stood up and stared down at her. "Tonight's supposed to be a cold night and without even listening to your conversation with Clarisse on the phone, I can already tell this house is in need of a working heater."

"We have a stove," Amy waved him off. "We'll be fine!"

His long and hard look told her she was missing something. He replied by saying, "Yet we have no wood nor any axe to go and count down a tree right now."

With a slam of the door, Amy was left outside to ponder Plan B for heat in the house while the first shiver ran through her body.

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><p><em>Somewhat edited. This is a Halloween short story I conjured up. Hope you likey. I'll finish this by October 31. Thank you.<em>

_~.~_

_Preview for next chapter:_

_...The only window in the room allowed the full moon's light to shine on the edge of the bed and the floor. Amy, thirsty as could be, shifted her weight as to not awake her sleeping companion. Her bare feet hit the floorboards and she walked to the open door._

_Ahooooooooooooooooooooo!_

_~.~_

_Arrivederci!_


	2. Midnight

**STH © SEGA**

**Sarah and Clarisse belong to me, BlackPetals23.**

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Two:**

**Midnight**

Amy woke up next to Sarah as their clock read 12:00 a.m.

She stared around the bare room. Wooden floorboards were placed in every room and a dresser with a missing leg stood lopsided beside the open, white door of their shared room. Sonic was just across the hall and so was the bathroom. Shadow was sleeping downstairs on the couch. Every friend was huddled with blankets as they had failed to get wood so late in the afternoon.

Instead, Amy had immediately hurried over to Clarisse's house. The dirt road was lonely for the pink hedgehog as the sun set, and the corn fields had given her a spooky vibe—like something had been watching her for that long mile walk.

The only window in the room allowed the full moon's light shine on the edge of the bed and the floor. Amy, thirsty as could be, shifted her weight as to not awake her sleeping companion. Her bare feet hit the floorboards and she walked to the open door.

_Ahooooooooooooooooooooo!_

She halted dead in her tracks. Her ears shifted to the window as soon as the sound broke through the air. Scared but curious, Amy peered outside from the two story house. Nothing was in the backyard, and nothing showed on the borderline of the woods. Amy licked her lips and shook her head while closing her eyes.

_Silly, Amy. It's just Clarisse's dog. He's probably lost like she said._

With that and some confidence gained, Amy worked on her previous mission of getting water. Walking her way down the stairs and into the kitchen silently, she grinned as she was successful in keeping Shadow asleep.

She grabbed herself a glass from the cupboard and got some water. After her first tiny sip, her ears could hear a faint sound.

_Tick, tick, tick._

Her first thought was the clock. But the clock wasn't that fast. It sounded like something walking on wood. Where had she heard that sound before?

_Flashback_

"_C'mon, Charlie!" Amy cooed as the Dalmatian puppy scampered across the tile floor. _

_His claws ticked with every time his paws hit the tile. Amy grinned as she slipped the new collar on her dog. "There ya go!"_

_Flashback Ends_

Amy peered around the kitchen's archway entrance. Nothing.

It was pitch black, but the sound was still there.

_Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick._

It seemed to have gotten faster, as if whatever was making the sound was increasing its pace. Amy swallowed and looked at the couch. Shadow was sleeping intently. Amy put the glass in the sink and turned off the kitchen light.

Suddenly, the sounds stopped.

Her heart pounded in her ears and tears swelled in her eyes because of the unknown.

_C'mon, Amy! You're just freaking yourself out because it's an old house! You automatically assume it's haunted, but it isn't. It isn't._

Amy took one step and a floorboard creaked. It didn't sound close either.

Shifting her weight on the foot out of the kitchen, another floorboard creaked. Then another. Amy whimpered and raced to the first living being she knew that would protect her.

Red eyes glared as he found a whining girl in his grasp.

"Rose," he hissed. "What do you think-"

"Sh!" Amy put a hand over his mouth.

A floorboard creaked again. This caught Shadow's attention. Taking a hold of her wrist, he gently pulled the hand from his mouth away to glance over the couch. His red eyes searched for any movement but there was nothing.

_Creak!_

Amy's fingertips clung onto Shadow. The ebony male growled lowly in response. But it wasn't to her.

Suddenly, white socks showed and Sonic was rubbing his eyes. He looked up at Shadow and Amy who stared up at him in surprise. "Um…" Sonic pointed to the kitchen. "Water…"

Shadow sensed Sonic felt embarrassed from walking in on them. Due to that, Shadow pushed Amy off of him roughly. He glowered at her as she rested on the floor. "_Don't ever do that again_," he hissed menacingly.

Amy only nodded before running up the stairs. Sonic reappeared with his glass and gazed up the stairway. "You didn't need to scare her off because I showed up."

"It's not like that!" Shadow tried to discourage Sonic's thought.

The blue hedgehog only smirked at Shadow over his shoulder while walking up the stairs, "_Suuuuure_."

As for Amy, the poor girl returned to her bed…but not without one more peek outside the window.

* * *

><p><em>How do you like the cover for this story? Took me a while but that was like a year ago…<em>

_~.~_

_Preview for next chapter:_

…_Another rustling sound made her stop in her thoughts, and nearly her breath, to look around._

_Again, nothing showed itself and the cause of the sound remained hidden. Amy glared at the trees around her, waiting for another squirrel to scare her, or perhaps a deer to run across the trail._

_But nothing came._

_Amy was alone in the woods…_

~.~

Would you rather review or do fifty push-ups? ;)

_Arrivederci!_


	3. Wood

**STH © SEGA**

**Sarah and Clarisse belong to me, BlackPetals23.**

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Three:**

**Wood**

Amy glanced up at the autumn leaves and sighed in the fresh air as her ears picked up the sound of Shadow axing away at another log.

Sonic and Sarah helped in making the piles of the freshly cut logs while Shadow took the liberty of chopping the wood. Amy stood there at the border of the backyard and the woods, its white pines and slight breeze calling to her.

The pink hedgehog ventured off while her friends were working laboriously.

Her boots snapped the twigs on the ground and her quills got stuck in a low hanging tree. The rose hedgehog frowned and struggled to untangle her quills. A rustling through the trees caught her attention.

Her emerald eyes caught nothing as they veered sharply around her surroundings. She was so far into the woods now that she could only hear the axe and not see its shiny blade in the sun as she had had a moment before.

A slight whimper was caught in her throat as she had that feeling someone was watching her again like the night she had to walk to Clarisse's house. Thankfully, the old lady took her home in her truck because Amy wasn't sure she would have lasted another walk through the cornfields on the dirt road. Something was eerie about this place.

Her eyes narrowed as a squirrel hurried up a pine.

"Amy!"

Shadow's harsh call made the young girl jump. She froze, unsure of what way to go. Trails and trees were separating her and the house. Her eyebrows narrowed.

_Trails…Clarisse's dogs maybe?_

She followed one trail that looked like it had been traveled the most. It cut down the small hill below her and vanished into thick hedges. The other direction of the trail led straight to the house. Amy shivered as she saw it.

_Something large had to have made these…_

Another rustling sound made her stop in her thoughts, and nearly her breath, to look around.

Again, nothing showed itself and the cause of the sound remained hidden. Amy glared at the trees around her, waiting for another squirrel to scare her, or perhaps a deer to run across the trail.

But nothing came.

Amy was alone in the woods.

"Amy!"

Another shout came from the direction of the house and Amy reluctantly left her position. She hurried onto the trail that led towards the house and soon found herself by the old workshop, behind the house, in the backyard.

She had to turn to her left to look across the yard where her friends were located. Her friends were seen closer to the side of the house though. Amy turned back to the old workshop and narrowed her eyes, squinting at it.

It looked rusty from ten feet away. The back door of the house was right next to it. From there, both of the doors look unused and possible budged. Amy didn't spend another second there as she thought about the trail and how it led _directly _to the house, but cut off at the hedges.

As she walked over to Shadow, her fingers started to shake.

_No Mobian would just create a trail like that and then have it end suddenly…I couldn't have made it through those hedges—they're too thick. Something must have scurried underneath or brushed past it without noticing. I would surely get tangled in the mess. _

She came to a stop as she ran into a puffy, white chest. She stared up at red eyes while her mouth took the form of an 'o'.

Shadow held the axe at his shoulder and glared down at the female. "Amy…"

Her ears pinned back in the silent scolding. Sonic and Sarah had gone in, most likely for lunch, and had left Shadow to babysit the youngest of the group once again. Her boots kicked up some clumps of dirt and grass as she ignored Shadow's look and concentrated on the ground beneath her feet.

"Let's go."

Amy left with him, but not without one more glance to the woods.

_You're just freaking yourself out, Amy. _

A sudden twig snapped.

_No, that was bigger than a twig._

Amy twisted around, but she wasn't the only one. Shadow growled and instinctively put his hand in front of Amy. The ebony hedgehog glared at the trees.

They both waited for another movement—but it was quiet.

Birds started to chirp again as they flew around the newly cut pile of wood. Shadow glared at the trees still. Amy made a move to go towards the house but Shadow held her wrist. He was posed for attack, ready to take down whatever threat there was.

"Shadow…" Amy whispered, noticing his ear twitch towards her. "It's fine. It was probably just a deer or something."

Shadow let it go and straightened up, thrusting her wrist away from his hold. He led her back into the house without any more trouble.

* * *

><p><em>I honestly don't know what to say. It's just a filler—dun, dun, dun. Expect another update to this in like...an hour. I probably won't be able to update tomorrow, is the reason. Plus, the next chapter is where it gets better...and spookier. ;)<em>

_~.~_

_Preview for next chapter:_

…"_Have you seen those trails in there? They look almost like something big came through…Something big and skinny, maybe."_

_Sonic rolled his eyes, "Big and skinny?"_

"_Lanky—that's the word," Amy responded. "Like it was big around the feet but made a thin trail. Or that it was moving so fast that it didn't care where it stepped."_

"_Did you see any broken limbs of trees?" Sarah inquired with a sudden interest._

"_Well, no," Amy said. "…But this one trail…I can't get it out of my head."_

"_Why?"_

_Amy shrugged and glanced down at her half empty plate. "It just…disappeared into these hedges…and into the moor…but it felt like something had gone through there recently—like the trail was still being used."_

_~.~_

_Arrivederci!_


	4. Supernatural vs Sanity

**STH © SEGA**

**Sarah and Clarisse belong to me, BlackPetals23.**

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Four:**

**Supernatural vs. Sanity **

The dinner of lasagna reminded Amy of how hungry she was. They sat down at the wooden table in the middle of the kitchen and started to eat.

Amy glanced outside and watched full moon illuminate the top of the trees in the woods. The woods, if possible, looked darker than they did in daylight. During the day, Amy could barely see. She should've heeded Clarisse's advice.

But the trails were in her mind.

_Maybe Clarisse's sons made the trails when they went and got trees. Trees lying down and being pulled could make that big of trail. _

_But that trail…That one trail that disappeared into the hedges…_

Amy pursed her lips in thought as the clinking of silverware continued. She paused with her food and thought longer.

_It looked unused by Mobians. Maybe it's a dear trail…It went down that small hill and into the crevice of the woods—a small little moorland in the woods, that's a perfect spot for deer. I wonder if I'll see any._

"Amy? You okay?" Sarah asked, bringing the pink hedgehog back into reality. "You're spacing out."

"Sorry," Amy apologized and looked down at her fork and lasagna, playing with the food on the plate. "I was just…thinking."

"About?" Sarah pressed on while she took a drink of water from her glass, "Any guys lately?"

Sonic made this snorting sound with his cup to his lips. "Right—Amy's got an admirer across the street of where she lives. What's his name again?"

Amy shook her head. "Doesn't matter, I'm not interested. I wasn't thinking about that…Have any of you gone into the woods?"

Sarah shook her head. "You wouldn't catch me dead in there. I hate all things scary and creepy. Not to mention dark and unfriendly looking. Why?"

"I went in there today…It was dark," Amy trailed off.

"Oooh," Sonic mocked her with a ghost sound and tickling his fingers towards her. Amy shrugged him off.

"I'm being serious, Sonic. There was…"

"There was what?" Sarah asked as she stopped eating. Shadow glanced at her before looking across the table at Amy.

Amy just shook her head again with a look of uncertainty. "I'm not sure…I felt like I was being watched."

"You probably were," Sonic scoffed. "Shadow was glancing at the woods every piece of wood he chopped."

Shadow made a strangled sound in his throat while staring wide eyed at Sonic. If looks could kill…

Amy paused and looked at the ebony hedgehog. She tilted her head at him and the three waited for an explanation. Shadow merely sighed and set down his fork. "We all know Rose is clumsy and I didn't want her to go break a leg."

"Um…Thanks, I guess?"

Shadow met her eye contact. "I mean, that would've made this trip a waste of both of our time. You dragging me here only to break your leg and then I would've had to take you to the hospital. So much money wasted and so much time gone to things I could've been doing that I actually _liked."_

Amy just glared at him. "Well, don't be worried or anything. Sheesh—I'm just saying that there's something in those woods. Have you seen those trails in there? They look almost like something big came through…Something big and skinny, maybe."

Sonic rolled his eyes, "Big and skinny?"

"Lanky—that's the word," Amy responded. "Like it was big around the feet but made a thin trail. Or that it was moving so fast that it didn't care where it stepped."

"Did you see any broken limbs of trees?" Sarah inquired with a sudden interest.

"Well, no," Amy said. "…But this one trail…I can't get it out of my head."

"Why?"

Amy shrugged and glanced down at her half empty plate. "It just…disappeared into these hedges…and into the moor…but it felt like something had gone through there recently—like the trail was still being used."

"Amy, look," Sonic assured her. "It was probably nothing but a deer trail. You don't need to worry about this place. If Clarisse grew up here and is still living, there's probably nothing dangerous around."

"What if it moved in when she moved out?" Amy asked. "Sonic, it's the woods. What if she was told to never go in there? That something terrible was in the woods?"

"What are we in: The Little Red Riding Hood?" Sarah snorted. "Amy, it's fine. You're getting worked up over nothing—it's not like something supernatural is going on in the woods."

"Yeah, you sure you didn't watch too many werewolf movies back at Blaze's?" Sonic joked, going back to his lasagna.

"I'm serious!" Amy shouted and slammed her fork on the table. She glared between the three. "There's something out there. I never said it was something supernatural—I'm just saying it could be dangerous."

"Or it could be your imagination," Sarah said.

Sonic nodded, "Or one of Clarisse's dogs."

"Have none of you heard the howling?" Amy suddenly asked.

Sarah froze mid bite. "_Howling_?"

"At night. Last night I woke up for a glass of water and something howled. I told myself it was just one of Clarisse's dogs, too, but…it didn't _sound _like a normal dog, ya know?"

Sarah shrugged and finished her bite. "So, it's a wolf, so what? It's the country, Amy, not the city. Wolves live around these parts on the outside of Center Mobius—it wasn't anything new. I grew up in South Mobius and we always had wolves interfering with the herds."

Amy nodded to herself mainly, "Just a wolf…right. That must be it."

"Until Rouge's party," Shadow spoke up as he cleaned off his plate. "I would suggest Amy stays inside."

"What? Why?" Amy asked, rather bewildered of Shadow's sudden concern.

"For your sake and ours," Shadow deadpanned, "And probably your sanity."

"I'm not going crazy!" Amy exasperated.

Sonic glanced at her while Shadow got up and put his dish in the sink. Sonic raised his glass to his lips again and raised his eyebrows at the female. "Doesn't yelling that make our assumptions true?"

"No," Amy huffed and got out of her chair, throwing the remains of her food in the garbage. "I'm going to bed."

* * *

><p>Amy awoke to Sarah's snores.<p>

She figured it was better than waking up to howling—then the others would really think she'd gone mad. Amy just hoped Rouge's party at the club would be here soon—it was set for Halloween, of course, but Amy couldn't wait to leave this house.

Something out there in the woods was bothering her.

Amy carefully rose from the bed and lithely walked over to the window. She stared outside, two stories above the ground. It was pitch dark.

_Flick._

The lights outside went on.

Amy gasped and clutched the window.

_What are those?! Clarisse didn't tell me about any lights outside. That's strange…_

She looked at the tiny lamps in the ground—they seemed to make a square all the way around the backyard of the house, including the pile of wood. Amy could clearly see the yard now, but it was empty.

Amy sat there and watched in the darkness of the shared room. Her fingers clutched the windowsill of the window as she peered outside into the lit yard.

_But the lights weren't on last night…_

Amy bit her bottom lip as the lights slowly dimmed. They turned off within a matter of seconds after dimming. The pink hedgehog let out a shaky breath.

There was only one type of light she knew that would do that—lights that would suddenly turn on and then later dim until they were off again.

_Motion-sensing lights…_

* * *

><p><em>Dun, dun, dun! We're getting somewhere now. Don't worry; it's only a ten-chapter long story. So, for me, it's a short story. XD<em>

_~.~_

_Preview for next chapter:_

…"_Where are you going?"_

"_You weren't serious with staying indoors, were you?" Amy whined to Shadow. "I'm going into the city. I have to talk to the previous renters of this house."_

_Shadow sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Amy…Why? There's no mystery to solve here, it's just a house. You're probably just having hallucinations."_

"_Shadow, she put motion sensors in the lights outside," Amy said as he looked rather surprised about the fact on the lights. "I didn't know there were lights, either—until last night."_

"_Amy," Shadow scowled. "Why are you going outside in the middle of the night? Now Sarah's really going to think you're crazy."_

"_That's the thing, Shadow," Amy held out her hands, grasping her coat_. "_I wasn't outside_."

~.~

_Arrivederci!_


	5. Welcome Mat

**STH © SEGA**

**Sarah and Clarisse belong to me, BlackPetals23. [Kelly Jenkins and her mentioned family belong to me, BlackPetals23.]**

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Five:**

**Welcome Mat**

"Hello, Clarisse?"

Amy twirled the cord of the phone around her fingers countless times. She was shaking by the time she went to bed last night.

She had to know about those lights.

"_Yes, Amy?"_

"Clarisse," Amy leaned against the white wall near the warmth of the stove and crackling fire. "Do you have lights on out back here?"

"_Well, yes…I didn't imagine you would go out there when it's dark though."_

"Why do you say that?" Amy asked, knowing her assumption was easily over fifty percent correct.

"_Well, because the lights are motion sensors. They pick up any movement. The last family to rent the house had them installed and I didn't want to argue over it—but they eventually left anyway."_

"Why'd they get them installed?" Amy pressed.

Clarisse sighed over the phone. "_I'm not too sure. They were a happy family of four when they moved in and they loved the house. But a week went by and they just…up and left. They told me they didn't want to live in such a…troubled house—those were their words, I still have no clue why they said it or left however."_

Amy hummed in thought. "Can you possibly get me their phone number? Perhaps a work cell or cellphone number?"

"_Well, I don't really know it. I just knew their name. Kelly Jenkins was the wife while her husband was a business man in Center Mobius. They had two boys who just loved going into the woods on the first day. But when I visited about three days later, the boys were inside. It was such a beautiful day; I had to ask why they were inside."_

"Did they say anything weird?"

"_They didn't say anything at all. They sort of ignored me and that's when Kelly came in. She's a leopard who runs a jewelry store in Center Mobius called Diamond's Que. I never understood the name but the store is pretty to look at on the way to Marvin's."_

Amy hurriedly rushed to the stand beside the couch. Shadow sat there, reading a book, when Amy practically jumped the poor stand. He tilted his head. "What are you doing?"

The rose hedgehog didn't answer. Instead, she took the pen in her right hand and held the notebook paper firm. "Where's the jewelry store?"

"_Sheesh, Amy, it's not really in any of our price ranges—in fact only big top actors apparently went there and walked out with five bags. I honestly don't see why you would want to talk to Kelly—"_

"Clarisse, the address, please."

"_Alright, dear. Just ask for Kelly and say you know me—that should at least get her out of her office she's normally cooped up in."_

"Thanks, Clarisse."

Amy got the address and closed the notebook, grabbing her coat and rushing to the door. Just as she got it open, a hand came down and slammed it shut in her face. Amy turned to the annoyed male next to her.

"Where are you going?"

"You weren't serious with staying indoors, were you?" Amy whined to Shadow. "I'm going into the city. I have to talk to the previous renters of this house."

Shadow sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Amy…Why? There's no mystery to solve here, it's just a house. You're probably just having hallucinations."

"Shadow, she put motion sensors in the lights outside," Amy said as he looked rather surprised about the fact on the lights. "I didn't know there were lights, either—until last night."

"Amy," Shadow scowled. "Why are you going outside in the middle of the night? Now Sarah's really going to think you're crazy."

"That's the thing, Shadow," Amy held out her hands, grasping her coat. "_I wasn't outside_."

* * *

><p><em>Diamond's Que.<em>

Shadow huffed at the ridiculous name of the pricey store. He wore his brown jacket today with a green scarf Amy made him bring along. He made her bring _him _along. Shadow wasn't about to let her go wandering off outside alone after what she said at dinner.

He was concerned for her sanity, but now for their safety.

If what Amy said was true and there really were motion sensors outside…then _something _had been out there. Of course, it could've easily been a deer, but Amy reminded him of the howling.

Now, Shadow was contemplating over the chance that there were wolves this close to Center Mobius at all seeing as they remained in South Mobius and West Mobius mostly. He figured they were deer by the time Amy drove them to the jewelry store.

Amy led the way in and asked the lady at the counter for Kelly Jenkins.

Shadow could recall the phone call Amy had with Clarisse almost an hour ago, but he was busy looking around the fancy place. It had an imprudent name for such eloquent features.

"Yes?"

The smooth silky voice brought Shadow back to attention. Amy stood in front of him, but she did nothing to block his view from the leopard that sauntered in, swaying her hips while wearing her suit. She paused to look at them.

Her brown eyes were dull, but her long blonde hair looked smooth—no piece of hair out of place. She first looked at Amy, but stopped at Shadow. She put on her best smile and leaned against the counter at them, showing an easy amount of cleavage down her shirt.

"Hello…You said you knew Clarisse?" her eyes went to Shadow still.

Amy cleared her throat. "Yes. I called her about the motion sensors at the house you rented from her."

Kelly stood straight at the mention of the house. She stared down at Amy, somewhat appalled. "Is that the reason you came to see me?"

"Why else would a complete stranger come to see you?" Amy asked desperately. "_Please. _My friends think I'm losing my mind but I know—"

"It's safe to say you probably are," Kelly sighed. "I thought the same thing too."

"Please, can we talk in private?" Amy asked.

Kelly looked at her co-workers who nodded. She glanced back at the female before sharing a moment to look at Shadow. The ebony hedgehog gave her no attention whatsoever. "Fine…"

~.~

Lunch at a fancy restaurant was not what Shadow had in mind of privacy. A simple office would've sufficed, but this leopard wanted a stage to try and seduce him.

The sickening part was that Amy said that Kelly was married with two kids—but the leopard had no ring. Of course, upon arriving at _Saint Maurice's _(the name of the overwhelming price-ranged restaurant) Kelly had told them she soon after divorced her cheating husband. Shadow couldn't help but think she probably cheated, too.

"Ms. Jenkins," Amy calmly stated while they drank water and after Kelly ordered. "I need to ask you some questions…"

Kelly snorted. "What is this? Some sort of mystery?"

Amy cut a glance to Shadow, as if remembering what he said this morning. Amy sighed and looked down at her lap before confidently meeting Kelly's eye contact once more. "Did you see or hear anything unusual in the week you stayed at the house?"

"We stayed for a little more than a week," Kelly started after taking a sip of her water elegantly. "My ex-husband was off with some other bitch during this time however and I was left to stay at that old house alone with my two boys. They were energetic…They…walked around in the woods for the first two days."

"What happened? Clarisse said they were indoors the next time she visited."

Kelly cleared her throat and looked at the table. "They liked to stay outside until it was dark—completely dark…"

Amy shuddered at the thought of staying outside in the night _at that house_. She couldn't do it and nor would she for a million rings. It wouldn't happen. She couldn't believe the boys did it. _Something _must've happened, though.

"…and on the second night…they rushed in while I was watching TV. They slammed the door shut, whispering frantically—I thought nothing of it, of course, I just figured they were playing a game. Anyway, they locked the door and rushed into the living room. They closed all the curtains and locked everything—even the door to the basement."

Amy tried her best not to gasp, but in her worry, she had found Shadow's hand underneath the table. He did nothing to stop her from squeezing his gloveless hand, fortunately.

"Then they just…huddled around me on the couch," Kelly finished and met Amy's concerned gaze. "I didn't think anything of it until the next morning."

"What happened?"

Kelly glanced off to the side while clearing her throat sharply. "I went to go get firewood—I had made my brother-in-laws get wood and split it and then stack it neatly at the side of the house between the workshop and the door to the basement."

"I thought that was a backdoor," Shadow mumbled, staring at his napkin.

Kelly shook her head frantically. "No…It's not. You see, I went between the two buildings where the wood was stacked," she repeated, "and I glanced down. It was a cold morning—I could see my breath in the air while the boys stayed inside on the couch still—anyway, I was trying to hurry to keep the house warm since we ran out of firewood inside the house that night."

"What did you see?" Shadow growled, looking up with an annoyed expression. They were getting nowhere with Kelly's storytelling.

"A paw print. A _large _paw print."

"How large? Like a wolf?" Amy suggested.

Kelly nodded and pointed a finger at her. "That's what I originally thought, too, but when I asked Clarisse, she said the woods never had wolves in them."

Amy's hand squeezed Shadow's suddenly again. Shadow did nothing but let the rose hedgehog, at least until she started cutting off his circulation this time. He took his other hand and rubbed her hand that was clutching him. He eventually pried the fingers off.

She seemed to get the message and loosened her hold. All the while, Kelly was oblivious to their movements under the table. It only last for a few seconds, though.

"Is Clarisse positive?" Amy asked, "A hundred percent positive that there are _no wolves _in those woods? In the cornfields?"

"In the cornfields?" Kelly inquired suddenly, straightening up. "Why would you say the cornfields…"

"Amy."

"Amy," Kelly let the name roll off her tongue while sharing a glance at Shadow. Maybe she _had _seen the movement under the table and could only come up with one conclusion that the two Mobians across from her were together. "Why would you say the cornfields? Wolves don't particularly go into cornfields…"

"I walked to Clarisse's house the first night," Amy stated. "And I felt like I was being watched."

"We all experience that, Rose, it could've been nothing," Shadow softly said to her but Kelly cut him off with a shake of her head.

"No, I felt the same thing when I went to get firewood that morning. I saw the paw print in the frozen mud and suddenly something rustled in the woods not too far off. Have you seen the trail?"

That lit Amy's interest up like a Christmas tree. "Yes! Did you ever walk on them?"

"Hell no," Kelly shook her head rapidly and held her hands out. "I didn't dare. The movement sounded…_big_. Like a moose type of big."

"There are no moose in Center Mobius," Shadow murmured.

Kelly nodded. "That's exactly why I didn't go in, of course, if there was a moose, I wouldn't have gone in then either. Oh, shoot," she checked her watch. "Listen, I've got to get back soon."

"Okay," Amy said as Kelly stood.

The leopard turned to leave but hesitated. She opened her mouth and then closed it. It took her awhile to find the right words but eventually, she leaned in closely over the table towards them and whispered with straight eye contact, "There's something out there, Amy. You're not crazy. I thought I was too. Just keep the doors locked and the windows and curtains shut. Trust me…we didn't leave just because of the howling at night."

Amy's eyes widened. "You heard the howling, too?"

She nodded frantically, glancing around them before whispering some more, "Just get out of that house, now."

"What happened?" Shadow suddenly reached for Kelly's hand, keeping her at the table.

Kelly's eyelids lowered as she gazed at the connected hands. She sighed and pulled away, standing straight. "I'm a heavy sleeper, but my kids aren't. They had to go to a therapist after we left that house. I'm not about to ask them what happened to only get them shaken up about it some more."

"We understand," Amy said and Kelly was off. She left quickly in the sea of sophisticated people at the overpriced restaurant.

Amy let go of Shadow's hand and swallowed. "What do you think her boys saw?"

"A large paw print that night…" Shadow hummed in concentration before staring at Amy. "My best guess is that the boys were merely playing, ran around the house between the two buildings and saw something that scared them. It might've been a wolf, Amy. There's a good chance it was. What else could it possibly be that _exists_?" Shadow stood up, paid, and waited for her to follow.

Amy bit her bottom lip while following him out to the car.

_I don't know…But something tells me this existing thing is supposed to be _nonexistent.

* * *

><p>Sarah was rummaging through the cupboards of the kitchen while Sonic lounged around on the couch, waiting for Shadow and Amy to get back from Center Mobius.<p>

"I just wish they told us, ya know?" Sonic called from the living room. "I would've loved to find something that would scare the pants off of Knuckles."

Sarah snorted while feeling around more and more empty cupboards. There were cups there and plates. There were cans of food but none of which she was trying to find.

"You think they have chili stored in the basement?" Sarah asked. "I can't find any in here and Clarisse said she bought some so she could stock us up for the week before we reached the house."

"Probably. She grew up in this house; she's probably used to storing stuff in the basement."

Sarah withdrew her arm from the cupboard and shut it. She exhaled and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes while her ears folded back. "Sonic?"

"What?"

"Could you possibly come with me into the basement?" she nearly whispered.

Sonic groaned, "Really? You're a grown woman and you can't go into the basement," he was walking into the kitchen by now, "without being scared?"

Sarah gave him a look and he sighed. "Fine…" he gave in and led the way towards the basement door.

The basement door had a brass knob that looked like it was starting to rust. The door itself either looked dusty or in a drastic need of a paint job. The pale brown made the hallway door look older and more intimidating. Sarah shivered and her feet softly shuffled towards Sonic's.

The blue hedgehog grunted and opened the door.

It creaked an awful creak.

Sonic breathed annoyingly and turned on the light. The bulb in the stairwell flickered before turning on and giving off some light. Sonic made his way down the creaky old wooden stairs and glanced around the basement. The light barely showed anything. He turned back around to see Sarah still in the hallway of the house and roughly groaned. "Get me a flashlight, you wuss."

Sarah glared before running off. She was back soon with a flashlight and this time, she went down the four steps and met up with Sonic. The hero grabbed the flashlight and made his way down some more steps, now halfway down the straight staircase while Sarah's fingernails were digging into his bare arms.

He gritted his teeth to keep from yelling out at her. She was only scared, he reminded himself. Her whimpers emitting from her throat proved it. Her nose buried into his shoulder near his armpit proved it too, though it wasn't a place Sonic would want to hide. He was sure his armpits didn't smell that good at the moment.

"Sonic, it's too dark," Sarah shrieked when a clutter came from a corner of the darkness.

Sonic shined the flashlight and saw tin cans against a wall had fallen. A mouse scurried past them quickly, squeaking. Sonic caught his shaky breath before Sarah could detect it. The light beamed against the interior of the basement.

"It's just a mouse…" Sonic breathed heavily and glanced around.

The flashlight went along a door. There was a window at the top of it—he could see through it easily; being tall, but Sarah had some trouble. Sonic dismissed it and looked around. There were shelves that were recently cleaned and cans of food stacked a mile high.

Sonic grinned. "Hey! There they are," he grabbed the chili cans and sighed happily. "See? I told you."

He shined the light around behind the stairwell and saw what looked like a power breaker and its switches. Sonic hummed and walked over at the opened compartment and the black switches that controlled the lights of the house.

"I wonder if Clarisse was playing with this to get the electricity working before we arrived," he mused out loud as he swung the small "door" of the circuit breaker. He shut it closed with a satisfying slam.

Sarah ignored him. Instead, she was fixated on the door. She couldn't see through the glass at the top of the door. So, instead, she reached for the handle with shaky fingers. When she did, she shivered at the cold touch and glanced down.

The light from the flashlight was still near her. She had enough lit to make out shapes on the door. Sarah gasped as her fingers felt the shape like a blind person would read a book. "Sonic, give me the light."

"Sure," Sonic said and passed the flashlight to her, waiting at the bottom of the stairs now. "Why?"

Sarah only shined the light on the door and froze. Sonic looked over her shoulder when she didn't answer for several seconds. His eyes widened at the scene. "What is that?"

The door handle was bent in odd ways, like a strong man had gripped it too tight. The shapes Sarah's fingers had outlined were claw marks that dragged down to the bottom of the door, starting at the doorknob.

Sarah swallowed heavily. "Sonic?"

The hedgehog growled and roughly opened the door. Sarah shrieked again and hid behind him as the cool air hit their faces. Sonic stared up the cement steps that led to another door—this one with another window at the top. "It's the door to the side of the house by the workshop."

Sarah glanced from behind him and exhaled in relief before remembering the door he was holding onto. "Sonic? What was trying to get out?"

Sonic shrugged and looked down at his feet. There was a welcome mat on the outside of the door, on the cement part. There were mud prints scuffed all over it and the wording was faded out so much he couldn't tell what it had said. Sarah bit her lip.

"Clarisse said she had dogs. Maybe her family back then had a mean dog down here that tried to escape or something," Sonic thought logically. "I mean, if Clarisse isn't freaking out about it, neither should we."

Sarah nodded as he shut the door. His hands went to lock it instinctively before he found there was no lock. There was just an empty space where the lock _used _to be. Claw marks surrounded that space more than any other space on the door, and there weren't that many marks.

His companion gripped his arm suddenly as the light fell onto the empty brass of where the lock was supposed to be. "Sonic…" she breathed unevenly, "…What was trying to get _in_?"

* * *

><p><em>How am I doing for my first horrorsuspense story? Good, hopefully? _

_~.~_

_Preview for next chapter:_

"_So, how's the house?" Rouge asked against the blaring of the music._

_Amy made an attempt to smile. "It's…okay."_

"_Really?" the albino bat seemed shocked. "I thought you guys would've left by now!"_

"_What are you talking about?" Amy furrowed her eyebrows while Mobians in sweaty costumes surrounded them while more Halloween songs played on the records. The DJ making a mix that apparently influenced Mobians to just start dancing like lunatics and shouting for no apparent reason._

_Rouge raised her eyebrow. "That old lady could never rent that house after this Jenkins chick said the place was haunted! The house has been called the Yellow House ever since!"_

"_Why on Mobius would someone call it that out of all the haunted names available to use?!" Amy shouted to the bat, interested in nothing but their conversation._

"_Because her sons supposedly saw this creature with yellow eyes the night it broke into the house!"_

_~.~_

_Would you rather review or have your relative eat all your chocolate? ;D _

_Arrivederci!_


	6. The Party

**STH © SEGA**

**Sarah and Clarisse belong to me, BlackPetals23.**

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE: I don't put Mobians as three-four feet. I make them as tall as humans because I just can't imagine them so short. Yet I can watch Sonic X without any problem. XD Normally, I would tell you guys to just imagine them as their usual height if it bothers you, but in this story, height actually matters. So, imagine Sonic and Shadow to be almost like six foot while Amy and Sarah are over five foot. Okay? Good. <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Six:**

**The Party**

Sonic and Sarah were seated at the couch, staring at the coffee table while the chili was busy cooking on the stove.

Sarah's hands were clasped together in her lap. "What do you think…?"

"I don't know, Sarah," Sonic nearly whispered, lost in a trance of gazing down at the wooden table. His green eyes glazed over the more he looked at the pattern of the wood. "But if Clarisse wasn't worried about it, we shouldn't be either."

"Sonic, she's old. What if she missed it? What if she never went through those doors or noticed those claw marks?" Sarah glanced at her friend beside her. "This isn't something we should just dismiss, Sonic. We need to make sure that it's not something dangerous—"

Sonic stood up abruptly and folded his arms while he swayed at his feet. "You know, you're starting to sound an awful lot like Amy."

Sarah gasped. "What! I am not!"

"I think you should just take a nap, rest for a bit, and forget this ever even happened," Sonic brushed his nose before he shrugged. "We'll only be here for a couple more days. Then we'll be back to West Mobius and in the comfort of our own homes. Nothing to worry about."

"So you are worried?"

Sonic glanced down at her. "I never said that."

"But you never denied it," Sarah pointed at him like it was a matter of fact. "And you're trying to comfort me. Maybe you're trying to comfort yourself, too. Perhaps you're trying to assure yourself those claw marks are nothing but hallucinations. Is that it?"

"Listen," Sonic glared at her. "I'm not about to make a fool out of myself by overthinking this. Don't you think Clarisse would've told us, or do you not trust her?"

"She could've missed it—"

"Those markings are almost faded in, and if Clarisse is here every month to check up on the place, I doubt she would miss them. She's grown up in this house and she's taken the utmost care of it," the stubborn hedgehog stated, looking away from Sarah. "You and Amy are making a big deal over nothing. I'm only trying to prove it."

"Prove it?" Sarah scoffed and stood up, folding her arms equal to his. "Alright, prove it. The sun is setting, Sonic, go outside and look around," she walked through the kitchen and called; "If anything gets you, don't come crying to me!"

If there had been a door, she would've slammed it.

Instead, the front door opened. Sonic's green eyes glanced from the empty kitchen doorway to Shadow and Amy. "How was it?" he huffed, "Better than our day here?"

Amy shrugged and took off her scarf and coat. "How bad was it here?"

Sonic shrugged, "So, so. Tell Sarah she's got nothing to worry about though. You're over this strange feeling you've got on this house, aren't you, Ames?"

Amy paused and shakily hung up her coat. Shadow was two steps ahead of her into the living room. His red eyes looked Sonic up and down while he frowned. "What are you talking about? What happened?"

Sonic shook his head with closed eyes. "It's nothing to worry about, sheesh."

"Sonic, what happened?" Shadow asked firmly again.

"Ugh, fine," Sonic obliged. "Look, we went into the basement looking for a can of chili since Clarisse said she stocked up on them after Amy called ahead about my love for chili dogs. We got down there, found the food, and then got stopped at the door that leads outside."

Amy whimpered, settling down on the couch.

"And?"

"The lock was missing and there were scuff marks on the door. It was probably just one of Clarisse's dogs when she came to visit this old house."

"Scuff marks! Ha!" Sarah shouted from the kitchen. "They were _claw _marks, Sonic! Claw marks! Nothing about them was scuffed!"

Amy's face paled. She looked at Shadow with widened eyes. "You don't think Kelly saw it too?"

"Whatever her boys saw, it wasn't friendly," Shadow mused with crossed arms while Sarah came into the room, leaning against the kitchen archway wall. "Her boys saw something one night, came inside quickly, and locked everything up," he explained to the two.

Amy nodded quickly. "And she saw a paw print the next morning between the house and the workshop, in the frozen mud. She was really shaken up about it. She told us to get out of the house as soon as we could."

"Hmm…" Sarah contemplated thoughtfully. "Maybe Clarisse knows what happened? Maybe she heard something from Kelly? Maybe this story got out and people are talking about this house? That would explain why it was so cheap and that Clarisse barely gets anyone to look at it anymore."

"It wasn't even a year ago," Amy stated. "Kelly Jenkins must've had this house almost last winter—not quite a year ago. The date on Clarisse's schedule book for the house was completely empty except from the Jenkins."

"Okay, calm down," Sonic interrupted. "Her boys probably just ran into a wolf."

"This close to Center Mobius?" Shadow contradicted. "Not likely, Sonic. We all know wolves stick to South and West Mobius."

"So?" Sonic shrugged and glanced at each one of them. "That doesn't mean a lone wolf couldn't have crossed the borders and found itself here—in the perfect habitat for a wolf despite a house."

They were cut off by the phone ringing.

Sarah answered it roughly. "Hello? Rouge?"

"_Where the hell are you guys?! You were supposed to be here an hour ago to help set up!"_

"Rouge?" Sarah asked uncertainly.

"_Who else would it be?! How many parties are you planning?" _Rouge scoffed on the other line. "_You know what? You four better drive down here soon or else. I'm tired of waiting for Blaze and Silver to show. They're taking forever and the guests are going to start arriving any time! I NEED HELP!"_

"We're on our way, Rouge."

The bat hung up quickly, leaving Sarah to just stare at the phone in her hands. Amy gasped and clasped her hands to her cheeks, "Oh, no! I forgot tonight's Rouge's party!"

"It's Halloween already?" Shadow asked, raising an eyebrow. "I suppose you lot better get ready."

Amy started to run up the stairs before she stopped and looked back at Shadow. "What about you? Aren't you going to dress up?"

"He's already dressed up, Ames," Sonic winked.

Shadow glared in the background while Amy giggled and ran the rest of the way up the stairs. Sarah mumbled something and went back into the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Amy, dressed differently than normal, stood alone at the bar while watching her friends and other random Mobians she didn't know.<p>

Rouge apparently knew them, and although Amy and Rouge didn't see eye to eye normally, they had a mutual understanding tonight. For the sake of the party and Mobians, they called a peace offering of no tormenting or provoking.

So now there she was, dressed like a witch at the counter. Her black velvet hat tipped to the side characteristically and her heels crossed. The outfit was more or less just black and dark purple, but Sarah insisted and so had Cream.

The hedgehog and rabbit were on the dance floor partying. Sarah was dressed like an annoying school girl would be, blowing her bubble gum and popping it in everyone's ears. Cream was dressed much nicer to say the least. The rabbit pulled off a princess dress with a flower tiara she made.

Rouge?

Well, the bat was sauntering up to Amy as the pink hedgehog took her eyes off of Sarah and Cream. "Hello, Rouge," Amy greeted politely, throwing a thin smile her way.

The bat was dressed like a vampire, of course. Rouge found the classic costumes the best—no matter how cliché and original they were. She still managed to pull it off.

"Amy, I thought you'd be dancing. Sitting here is sort of insulting me and my party, don't you think?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "I'm resting, Rouge. How are the guests?" she made an attempt to throw the female off the subject.

Rouge shrugged. "Knuckles' make-up was so good it started to scare people off. I eventually had him tape a sign to his chest that said 'Not a real zombie' and people are actually staying now."

"Oh, dear," Amy giggled while Rouge took a seat beside her, throwing her cape around one shoulder elegantly. "I bet he's a sight."

"Sonic's already finding ways to make his night a living hell," Rouge looked out into the crowd as she spoke. "How are the others?"

"Good, I suppose. Sarah is out there," Amy motioned but Rouge shook her head. The pink hedgehog frowned knowingly, "Shadow's fine, Rouge."

The white bat glanced at her with a playful smirk. "Are you two—"

"No."

"Awww, why not?" Rouge pressed. "I figured Shadow should start dating and getting out there more. It wasn't my fault he had an attraction to you."

"He doesn't have an attraction to me," Amy blushed madly. "He's just a friend."

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Well, that's what I meant. Out of the group, he only ever makes a decent conversation with you or me and ever since I started dating Knuckles, he's been off more. I only assumed he was hanging out with you while Sonic was off."

"I've been working," Amy put her nose in the air. "The bakery I met Sarah at is quite a lovely place to be. Shadow's only there for the peace and quiet and good smell of the delicious food."

"Are you sure he isn't enjoying the view, too?" Rouge winked.

"Rouge!"

"What? I'm only stating a fact," Rouge shrugged innocently. "I'm sure he's got a thing for you."

Amy bit her bottom lip and tugged at one of her quills. "Why? Did he…say anything?"

Rouge opened her eyes wide and smiled at Amy. "So you do like him! I'll be sure to tell him," she patted Amy's lap.

"No! I didn't mean it like that, I mean, I—he—we—it would never work."

"Yeah, yeah. Say no more, I won't speak of it," Rouge waved her off coolly.

They watched the Mobians dance some more. Sarah and Cream had vanished into the crowd. Amy frowned and glanced at the white bat. "Say, Rouge? How many other young people are here that you've allowed?"

Rouge hummed. "Not many…I only invited the rabbit girl because fox boy said it would be nice, seeing as Sonic made Knuckles persuade me to invite him and his buddy."

"You mean Tails?"

"Yup."

Amy giggled to herself. "I knew he liked her. They would be cute, don't you think?"

"You were trying to get me off the topic of love not five minutes ago," Rouge opened one eye as she rested against the counter, "If you want, we can go back to talking about you and Shadow."

"No!" Amy put her hands out and waved them erratically.

Rouge was only toying with her and they both knew it. Amy's cheeks flushed in embarrassment and anger. Rouge was merely enjoying her time hanging out with the girl without fighting for once.

"Alright," Rouge stated and grabbed Amy's wrist, dragging her to the dance floor. "Let's dance!"

An upbeat song came out while the DJ moved to the beat. More Mobians piled back onto the dance floor, squishing Amy and Rouge up against each other. The pink flower blushed as a male hedgehog towered over her and grinned.

"Hey, there," he said smoothly though she barely heard over the suddenly deafening music.

It seemed the closer you got to the DJ, the louder the music became. It was obvious of course, but it caught Amy off guard. She didn't expect Rouge to just drag her out there like she was an animal up for auction.

"Beat it!" Rouge whacked the hedgehog away. "She's taken!"

He scoffed. "You're Rouge, ain't ya? You're dating that Knuckles guy, you aren't dating her."

Oh, the blush only increased while Amy stood there between them. Rouge had her hand on Amy's arm tightly. The male hedgehog was just standing there, but he was advancing toward Amy.

Rouge stuck her nose up in the air and came between them. "Trust me; you don't want to know her boyfriend. He's mean and stubborn and he'll kick your ass within seconds."

Amy was grateful that the hedgehog left, but she glared at Rouge once the female turned around. "You couldn't have said something _else _to get him to go away?!"

Rouge only waved her off again—the signature movement of Rouge the Bat that Amy was learning to understand.

It went on like that, with Rouge ignoring Amy while they danced. The pink hedgehog was left to dance oddly while Rouge looked like a professional. Rouge swayed her hips to the beat with the other Mobians around her.

Amy was more or less trying to succeed at the Macarena.

Blue eyes noticed the pink hedgehog's slow attempts to dance. Rouge frowned and decided to strike up a conversation. Sadly, the two ever talked without arguing, so Rouge had to look to the last resort for a topic to talk about.

It took a while to think of a subject, but eventually, Rouge was reminded of something she thought of earlier.

"So, how's the house?" Rouge asked against the blaring of the music.

Amy made an attempt to smile. "It's…okay."

"Really?" the albino bat seemed shocked. "I thought you guys would've left by now! I forgot to mention something about the house you're staying at!"

"What are you talking about?" Amy furrowed her eyebrows while Mobians in sweaty costumes surrounded them while more Halloween songs played on the records. The DJ making a mix that apparently influenced Mobians to just start dancing like lunatics and shouting for no apparent reason.

Rouge raised her eyebrow. "That old lady could never rent that house after this Jenkins chick said the place was haunted! The house has been called the Yellow House ever since!"

"Why on Mobius would someone call it that out of all the haunted names available to use?!" Amy shouted to the bat, interested in nothing but their conversation.

"Because her sons supposedly saw this creature with yellow eyes the night it broke into the house!"

Amy stopped her movements altogether. "What…something…broke into the house?"

Rouge halted and tilted her head while her arms stayed at her sides. "You really didn't know?"

Amy shook her head.

"Huh…That's weird. There are plenty of names for the house, but the Yellow House was the first once I heard. I don't know if it's original or not."

The song ended and Amy soon went back to her seat with Rouge. This time, it was Amy dragging Rouge.

"Tell me the story, please," Amy urged on while the bartender got them drinks.

Rouge looked at the ceiling before sighing. "Well, from what I heard, this creature with yellow eyes broke into the house. Her boys saw it, but the Jenkins lady said she never woke up until morning. She found them in the locked closet. Nothing was out of place or anything, though. Apparently, she slept through it. She didn't believe the kids at first, but…"

"But what?"

Rouge shrugged. "She must've seen something I guess. She left with her two boys that day."

"That's it?" Amy asked with wide eyes. "That's all there is to the story? That can't be it!" Amy clung onto Rouge's arms, shaking her back and forth. "Rouge, I need to know what happened!"

"Amy, calm down," Rouge yelled. "You're freaking me out, stop that!"

The rose hedgehog gave up on her shaking and slumped in her seat, groaning. "Oh, Rouge…I'm sorry, I'm just…I must be losing it…"

Rouge tilted her ears forward. "What do you mean?"

"There's something near the house, Rouge…First it was the howling, then the ticking on the floor, then the woods and that trail, and then it was Kelly Jenkin's story. Now it's this…Ugh," Amy put her head in her hands. "She never said anything about having something break into the house, though…I don't get it."

She looked up. "Why wouldn't she say anything, Rouge? She said her boys were frantic and locked everything up the second night, and then she said she saw the paw print the next morning, but she left soon after. It was like she was trying not to tell that her boys saw something _again_."

"Maybe her boys were just playing around," Rouge shrugged.

Amy shook her head. "A child wouldn't lock themselves in a closet for a game."

"Kids see monsters under their beds and in their closets," Rouge stated. "Those boys could've easily been hallucinating. There's this blog online about it for Center Mobius scares. It showed that the boys didn't ever actually _see _what the creature was. Just that it had "yellow eyes" and it was about their height."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "It was?"

Rouge shrugged once again. "That's what it said. The therapist made them blog about the story to talk about it and hopefully recover from it. Somehow the story got out. The boys were only about four feet, though. They said it looked them right in the eyes perfectly. Yellow, big, and scary eyes."

Amy shivered. "You don't think it's true, do you?"

"I don't know, I've never seen the house," Rouge said. "Why? What else happened to _you_? Howling could've easily been a wolf or stray dog. Clarisse has fliers everywhere with dogs on them. It always seems to be the same dog named Barley though."

Amy nodded. "Barley walks off and starts to howl when he's lost. I figured that's what I heard."

"But you went into the woods?"

"Yes, during the day though. There was this creepy trail that Sonic thinks I'm overreacting about. But I tell you, Rouge, it didn't look like Mobians could use it. But it didn't look like it was abandoned. It looked like the best trail there because it was used often."

"Hmm…Anything else?" Rouge inquired, "The ticking on the floor. What was that?"

Amy only moved her shoulders a little and shook her head. "I don't have a clue. It was the first night after I woke up and heard howling. I went downstairs to get a glass of water when I heard ticking. But it wasn't rhythmical like a clock. It was like when my dog walks on wooden floors and his claws make that ticking sound. They became uneven and picked up pace. Then they just…stopped altogether."

"Was it anywhere near you?" Rouge asked with concern, suddenly interested in this mystery.

Amy shook her head again. "No…Then there was a floorboard creak from upstairs. That was Sonic, but I didn't know. I freaked out and went to the couch where Shadow was. I woke him up and he wasn't quite happy about it—"

Rouge gave her a knowing look. "Sounds like you two had fun."

Amy blushed, "_Rouge. _We didn't cuddle or anything. I was just looking for comfort and when we heard the floorboards creak again, we watched the stairs and the hallway. Sonic showed up after that and I went back upstairs."

"Shadow said something about motion sensors," Rouge suddenly stated. "He was talking about this with me for advice. He didn't say all what you saw, but he didn't like the fact that the motion sensing lights went off when nothing was outside. Amy, I wouldn't worry about this normally, but when Shadow's a little concerned, I would get out of there ASAP."

"He was concerned?"

"His expression showed it. Whatever set the lights off had set him off. He's still sticking to logic and saying it's just a dog or lone wolf like Sonic suggested to him."

Amy sighed and rolled her neck around, popping it and closing her eyes. "What am I going to do, Rouge? I can't go back to that house, especially when it's dark, and just forget everything that happened. There are claw marks on the basement door, Rouge. _Claw marks_."

Rouge grabbed her hand and softly squeezed it. "Amy, if you're really freaked out, you can spend the night here. There are rooms upstairs that are locked so no couples invite themselves in. I can always get you guys a key."

"No…" Amy moaned sadly. "I'm just dramatizing all of this. There's nothing to be scared off. I'm just freaking myself out because it Halloween."

Amy kept assuring herself that's what it was.

It was Halloween so of course she wanted to be scared…

Right?

* * *

><p>Rouge had left a couple minutes after their talk.<p>

Amy had left not long after that.

She was looking for Shadow in the crowd when she spotted him in an isolate booth. The club was dark and she had barely seen him. He was sitting beside himself, staring at his water glass. Or she hoped it was water.

Amy sat across from him and offered him a small smile. "How's it going?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't particularly want to be here, so…Does that answer your question?"

Amy giggled and looked into the crowd. "Have you seen the others?"

"Sonic left to dance with Sarah not too long ago. Your rabbit friend left with her mother about thirty minutes ago with the fox."

Amy cracked a smile. Leave it to Rouge and Shadow to not care about remembering Cream and Tails' names. It was rude considering they spent more time with them nowadays, but it was just how they were. Besides, Rouge normally Tails the fox boy anyway. It was only to get on his nerves, of course.

"And you? Have you danced lately?"

"I haven't gotten out of this seat since Knuckles left it unoccupied. He made me stand there like a lunatic for the beginning of the party."

His eyes were closed now as he held his drink calmly.

"Do you wanna dance?" Amy asked suddenly, her cheeks flushing while Rouge's words rang in her ears.

Shadow opened his eyes abruptly and looked from his drink to her. He pursed his lips in thought before glancing at the dance floor. "I don't suppose why not…"

Amy let out a light grin before tugging him onto the dance floor and leaving his drink alone.

They were near the center of the dance floor, crowded with other Mobian couples. Sarah and Sonic were thrown into the mix and Amy could occasionally catch sight of them before they vanished in the circling crowd.

Amy figured it was some type of dance, but it only consisted on hopping around like a bunch of crazies. So, instead, she put her arms around Shadow's neck. He was rather surprised and glanced at the others around them.

"I may be wrong, Rose, but I don't think this type of dance is suitable for this song, much less a Halloween party."

"What's wrong with being different, Shadow?" Amy looked up at him while he wrapped his arms around her waist reluctantly.

Shadow's eyes flickered to the side. "Trust me, there's nothing good out of being different. People judge you too quickly."

"And yet you're still you," Amy pulled them closed together while remained unfazed. "And you've got friends. Therefore, different can't be all too bad. It just takes some time to get used to."

"_And let's slow things down for the couples out there…" _The DJ said over the mic, stopping the song suddenly and switching it.

Some Mobians were set off but the couples wouldn't complain. Amy grinned while she looked over and saw Sarah and Sonic slow down to the correct pace about three couples away from Shadow and Amy.

"See?" the rose hedgehog gazed up at Shadow. "There's nothing wrong with being different."

"That was change, not difference."

Amy sighed. "Sadly, Shadow, those are synonyms."

His eyes widened as he made a strangled sound in his throat. He cleared his throat while she laughed and poked his chest. "Ha! Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form, can't always win arguments."

"Hm…" his eyelids lowered while he gazed down at her softly. "It would appear so…"

"So, um…" Amy looked at his chest. "I see Kelly was taking a fancy at you."

"Hmph," Shadow pulled away from their close position and looked into the crowd while they continued to dance. "I wasn't interested in her."

"Oh? You've got another lady friend back home?" Amy pressed though she had no clue why.

It was what Rouge said, really. Amy mentally sweat dropped while thinking to herself.

_Stupid, stupid! Don't ask that! You two are just friends, nothing more._

"Technically."

His answer caught her off by surprise. Amy's ears perked up while her mouth gaped. "Oh? How is technically an answer?"

Red eyes caught her eye contact. "Fine, I don't. Why do you ask?"

His large hand pressed against the small of her back while he dipped her. Amy clutched onto his shoulder to prevent from falling while she was dipped. He smirked while she flushed. "No reason…"

"Do you not trust me, Rose?" Shadow tilted his head innocently.

Amy's hold relaxed and he swung her back up. "No, you just caught me off guard."

He did it again, too. Only it wasn't dipping. He brought her closer so she smacked into his chest lightly. His nose grazed her cheek while her hat made it harder for her to see what he was up to. She raised an eyebrow while he continued to hold them together rather closely.

But Amy didn't find herself minding one bit.

_Why don't I pull away? _

She bit her bottom lip while her cheeks continued to flush a bright red. She only hoped that Shadow couldn't see them that well in the darkness.

_This feels…nice. It's comforting and…romantic, if I dare say so. Why is he doing this? Maybe it _wasn't _water in that glass after all._

But Amy knew better. Shadow never drank alcohol a day in his life and nor did he ever smoke. The ebony hedgehog was telling the truth whenever he spoke to her, she just knew it. Besides, she had done nothing to ruin their trust. She had only ever been kind and welcome to him.

Suddenly, lips were brushing softly against her cheek.

Amy closed her eyes and hitched her breath while her arms tightened their hold around his neck, pulling them even closer if possible. Shadow chuckled lowly against her skin while his lips traveled to hers. Amy was still blushing like mad by the time their lips were hovering against each other.

She made a little whine but Shadow pushed their lips together at that moment. Amy responded a little while she mainly dealt with her heated face and the fact that _Shadow was_ _doing this_.

_Oh, I hope Sarah and Sonic aren't watching. Or Rouge for that matter. Oh, I can already see her smug smirk!_

Shadow pulled her towards him again as she started to back up. A little growl escaped his throat while they kissed and swapped spit. Just the thought of it made Amy slightly disgusted at the thought, but the kissing part was just fine. Shadow could _totally _keep doing that.

Just so long he let her process this through first. Unfortunately, Shadow didn't give her break. They stood there kissing in the center of the dance floor the remainder of the slow songs.

Sarah and Sonic were paying attention to each other but stole glances and snickers to Shadow and Amy's way. Sonic smiled softly at the two. "It was only a matter of time, don't you think?"

Sarah nodded while staring at them. "You think we should look away? We're beginning to look like creepers."

"Well unless you want to make out also," Sonic suggested jokingly.

Sarah scrunched up her nose and closed her eyes. "Ha, ha. I'm fine, Sonic the Hedgehog. You're lucky to be dancing with me."

Sonic tightened his hold at her hips. "I'll get that kiss out of you one day."

"Sure you will."

It wasn't five minutes after that when not only Rouge saw Shadow and Amy, but that Sonic and Sarah were flirting together nonstop. The ivory bat looked back and forth between the couple. She honestly didn't know about the whole Sonic and Sarah thing (and nor was she about to stop them to ask) but she smirked at Amy and Shadow.

"I called it," Rouge said while Knuckles appeared beside her.

The echidna frowned while his purple eyes looked over the crowd to spot the couple making out. "Dang it…"

"You owe me five bucks."

For the couple in the center of the dance floor, the night couldn't have gone better. Amy was caught in her blissful moments full of passionate kisses while she ignored the fact her lips would definitely be swollen and chapped the following day.

Shadow seemed to be enjoying himself, too. Amy didn't know what exactly he was thinking or what this meant for them because they frankly didn't stop to ask. All Amy knew was that Shadow didn't cease in his kisses and neither would she. It would take Rouge or security to remind them to leave the dance floor.

For now, Amy was going to enjoy this moment with Shadow. He kept pulling her closer, making sure she was still actually there. Her fingers were soon tangled in his quills. PDA was obviously nothing important to them or anyone in that club because more than half of those couples were doing the same thing at that moment.

And Amy was pretty sure her feet weren't even touching the ground anymore.

* * *

><p><em>These chapters just keep getting longer and longer, readers. And aww! Lookie! After all the scary drama Amy's gone through, she's finally gotten to just relax, sit back, and kiss Shadow—wait, what? Oh, that's right! She's making out with Shadow the Hedgehog, that lucky female. Damn it…Two chapters tonight since I won't be able to tomorrow. Expect another update at like...nine or nine-thirty. <em>

_~.~_

_Preview for next chapter:_

_The van drove along the bumpy road. Clarisse's house was now just a lamp from her porch. The cornfields surrounded the van while Sonic drove expertly. He wasn't a lead foot, but he wasn't particularly slow either. They hit another bump._

_"Could you take it easy, Dynamite?" Sarah asked, clutching onto the center console while sitting in the passenger seat. "We don't have anywhere important to be right now."_

_"Sorry," Sonic apologized. "It's just how I drive."_

_Shadow rolled his eyes in the back while Amy gently grinned. Suddenly, they hit another bump. A _rough _bump. _

_POP!_

_The van started to whir while Sonic cursed under his breath and stared at the steering wheel. They came to a slow stop in the center of the dirt road. None of them had to ask. It was thanks to Sonic's poor driving that they were now stuck in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cornfields, and probably going to have walk the rest of the way. Amy groaned while hitting her head against the head rest. "Please tell me we have a spare..."_

_"Nope."_

_They were stuck there on the cornfield road with a popped tire. Defenseless and vulnerable. _

~.~

_Arrivederci!_


	7. Flat Tire

**STH © SEGA**

**Sarah and Clarisse belong to me, BlackPetals23. [Charlotte and Lorena belong to me, BlackPetals23. Mentioned: James {Charlotte's boyfriend} belongs to me, BlackPetals23.]**

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Seven:**

**Flat Tire**

Shadow didn't know when, but Amy had vanished. It was after the slow songs had ended and after their kiss (or kisses) was interrupted by a security man.

It was slightly embarrassing to Shadow that he needed to be controlled by another and not himself. So, he sat down to gain some self-control in hopes that he wouldn't lose himself the next time he kissed Amy Rose. And there _would _be a next time.

Now, he was standing by the bar while the bartender handed him another glass of water. Though the beverage made Shadow feel drowsy, he succeeded in staying awake long enough to see Rouge saunter up to him. She swayed her hips fashionably and in a Rouge-like manner.

"Hello, handsome," she smirked and sat in the stool beside him, leaning her elbows up against the counter. "Was that _you _and _Amy _out there on the dance floor earlier? _Kissing_? Or do I have to tell Knuckles he can keep his five bucks."

Shadow frowned at his longtime partner and friend. "Rouge," he greeted.

"Oh, you're not going to tell me?" Rouge batted her eyes and pursed her lips. "Well…I'll just get it out of Amy then and leave you two alone afterwards. I'm sure if she doesn't answer me, locking you two up in a room will."

He only responded with a cringe.

"Anyway…" Rouge stated and glanced away. "How's the house? I told Amy about it being broken into."

"I told you to keep that to yourself," Shadow growled. "Amy's worried enough already. We'll be gone soon anyway. In fact, I'm thinking about making us leave tomorrow morning before anything strange happens."

"Haven't you heard?" Rouge asked. "It doesn't take long for the monster to strike—whatever it is, of course."

"How would you know, Rouge? No one but the Jenkins and us have been in that house," Shadow muttered, looking for his pink hedgehog now to get away from Rouge and her pestering ways.

"Think about it," the white bat nudged him. "With the Jenkins, the boys must've been played with."

Red eyes glanced her way out of curiosity. She cleared her throat.

"I've studied up on this for your guys' sake. It didn't feel right to be going to that house and I worried for you."

"Really, Rouge? _You _worried?" Shadow scoffed and looked away.

"I'm serious," Rouge glared. "So, I guessed that this…_thing _has a pattern with people in the house. It could possibly be freaking the residents out on purpose before it strikes. What I find interesting though is that the boys were locked in a closet and _nothing _was damaged. It was like it was _just _a pair of yellow eyes or something. Like the monster is simply two really gigantic fireflies. But that's ridiculous."

"I figured the boys were just hallucinating. You know how kids imagine," Shadow stated.

Rouge shook her head. "I told Amy that but she doesn't buy it. I'm positive she thinks something inhuman is at that house. She told me what she went through, Shadow, she told me what she heard and saw. That's not anything you should just throw away and forget. It's something you should take precautions on."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Listen, Rouge, we'll be gone by morning. That's it. If you're so damn concerned with this still then call the Ghostbusters and let them deal with it."

"You know, I just might."

She left after that, leaving him with such a nasty exit that made him feeling guilty. But Shadow wiped it away as quickly as the feeling had arrived. He didn't have time to worry about Rouge or monsters or country houses possibly infected with such things. He didn't have time to be concerned about what two little boys imagined.

Besides, he still had to find Amy.

* * *

><p>She knew Shadow would probably be frowning at her, but she had to ask the two girls in the bathroom. She just had to.<p>

Amy cleared her throat and the two stopped talking to look at Amy. "Hi…"

The lizard made an attempt to wave while the other Mobian actually responded. "Hey," the blue hedgehog leaned against the sink coolly and nodded at Amy with her Gothic haircut and piercings.

At least her friend was normal looking.

"Do you by any chance know about…" Amy closed her eyes in hope, "The Yellow House?"

"Hmm…No, sorry," the hedgehog said, shaking her head.

The purple lizard glanced at the sink before squinting at Amy. "Don't you mean the Funhouse?"

"The one owned by a raccoon named Clarisse," Amy suggested. "I'm staying at the house. The one where Kelly Jenkin's sons saw something in the house."

The lizard's blue eyes widened. "You're not staying _there _of all places!"

Amy only looked the girls up and down. "I'm with three of my friends. I've…heard some things. Both in and about the house."

"Has something creepy been going on?" the lizard asked.

Amy nodded her head and leaned against the wall. "It's originally called the Funhouse?"

"Yeah," the hedgehog nodded. "I'm Charlotte and this is my friend Lorena. Anyway, we know about the house. Stories get by pretty quick in Center Mobius. They call it the Funhouse mainly because the Jenkins boys had probably let something in to play with it. That's one of the many stories behind the actual story."

"Can you tell me about it?"

The two looked at each other before nodding at Amy. Charlotte waved her hand to the side and closed her eyes, speaking in her relaxed and eerie voice like she was reciting a scary story by heart. "After the Kelly Jenkin's incident, people had begun creating their own stories behind the real one. But you can always check the blog that started it all. It got to some people, affected them, haunted them, and eventually some started showing up."

"To the house, you mean?" Amy questioned, her interest piqued.

Lorena blushed. "We…Well, we headed out there one night. With a couple of friends and all packed in our little car. We headed to the house and stopped in front of its yard."

Amy shivered while Charlotte nodded with closed eyes still, as if remembering the night detail by detail. The pink hedgehog grasped onto the sink in front of her while their reflections were in the mirror. No one else appeared to be in the bathroom fortunately.

"My boyfriend James was there," Charlotte said. "He was driving. Anyway, we stopped and we could see where the cornfield met the woods around the house. Well, we waited. We didn't exactly know what to expect or what to see."

"We sat there from ten to midnight before something happened," Lorena said.

"What?"

Charlotte shrugged. "Just some lights came on out back. We figured they were motion sensing lights."

"They are," Amy assured. "I checked with the owner after I saw them turn on one night. Something out there was moving."

"Yeah," Lorena nodded. "Then they flickered off eventually. Our car was completely off and we were in dead silence for the night. It was definitely not a night I'd pick to be my best."

"Did anything else occur? Anything strange?"

Charlotte put her hand up and opened her eyes. "Yeah…At one in the morning we decided to leave. So, we turned on the car. James flicked on the lights of the car and there it was."

"A beast, it was horrid and ugly," Lorena stuck out her tongue.

"You saw it?!" Amy gasped, clutching onto the sink.

"I like to imagine I did," Lorena mumbled while Charlotte spoke.

"Well, not exactly. It was hidden in the woods, behind some bushes and branches," Charlotte stated. "But it stared at us with big, yellow eyes. Just stared. James was frozen and we sat there for about a minute before he finally put on the reverse and started to drive. It just stood there…waiting."

"Wait, it _stood_? Like…how tall?" Amy asked.

Charlotte shrugged and glanced at the wall, "Had to have been hitting the first branch on the tree, so easily seven feet tall."

"But the boys said it was their height," Amy contradicted, shaking her head quickly to convince herself this never happened. "They were only four feet!"

"It was _standing_," Lorena interjected, "Because as soon as James turned the car around, it got out of the woods. It _ran _after us. Its eyes were lower and that's all we could see. But it _ran on four legs_."

Amy swallowed deeply. Oh, she knew she shouldn't have asked. But it was too tempting to not ask around and see. Especially if these girls were citizens of Center Mobius, which they were. Shadow would _not _be happy with her right now.

He didn't want her to get involved with anything.

And what did she do?

She got involved with everything.

"It was quick too. So whatever the hell it was, it's probably quicker on all four than on two legs. But it _stood_. And it wasn't another Mobian, it wasn't a prankster. I mean, who would go out at that house at one o' clock in the morning just to pull a prank on unsuspecting college students?" Charlotte asked and rolled her eyes. "That would be unlikely and immature."

Amy nodded her head shakily and licked her lips before gazing up at the girls. "That's it, then? That's all you saw?"

"Well, yeah," Charlotte responded. "It stopped following us after some distance. Right about the time when the owner's house came into view. We couldn't really see the house perfectly, but we saw the outline. Plus, she hangs a lamp on her porch and that's mainly what we saw. But that's when it stopped following us and when we couldn't see the eyes anymore."

"They glowed that bright?"

Charlotte and Lorena only nodded in unison. Amy exhaled through her nose heavily and turned to start walking away. Lorena cut her off though.

"Are you really staying there?"

"Yeah," Amy whispered and left.

* * *

><p>When she found Shadow, Amy had clung onto him.<p>

He kissed her forehead before he returned to watching Knuckles boast while sitting in the booth. Amy was too preoccupied about thinking of the girls and their story.

_If that really did happen…_

Amy shivered.

_Something tells me they were telling the truth. Then again, they could be laughing right now at my stupidity and believing them. They could've lied…_

Amy shut her eyes and leaned against Shadow, silently hoping he would assume she was tired and giving out to fatigue.

_But the way they said it, the way their eyes looked and how much horror reflected in them tells me otherwise…and that means that the story was real…and that something is out there. Something that can both stand like a man and run like an animal. _

"Hey, you ready to go?" Sonic called to Amy, making her and Shadow look at the blue hedgehog. "I've got the van started. Sarah's waiting by the door talking to Rouge. Let's go."

Amy shakily stood up, clinging onto Shadow for balance. The ebony hedgehog paid no attention to her though and let her hang on. He led the way to the door with Sonic behind them.

_Something near the house…_

It wasn't until the cool air from outside the club hit her face that Amy realized she didn't want to leave. She wanted to accept Rouge's offer on that room. She didn't want to arrive at the Funhouse or Yellow House or whatever anyone decided to call it—especially at _night_.

But she got into the van and she didn't say a word while Sonic put the van in reverse. She could only think about James putting his car into reverse, watching the yellow eyes stare right back at him. But in front of Amy was just another car.

Then Sonic backed up, and Amy had flashes running through her mind. She wasn't there and she didn't experience what Charlotte and Lorena did, but she could imagine. She could imagine the woods and the yellow eyes and the car backing up, twisting around so its front pointed towards the road and so the back was exposed to the creature watching.

She could imagine James looking in the rear view mirror to suddenly floor it when the friends in the back started to panic as the yellow eyes moved down and closer, in a running pattern. Amy saw it all. Amy could see it happening to Charlotte and her friends. Amy could see it happening to _her_.

_Something is out there. _She repeated in her head multiple times.

_Something that chased the car. _

_Something that was hunting its prey._

* * *

><p>"Almost there guys," Sonic stated after they drove onto Clarisse's road. "Clarisse's house should be up soon."<p>

Amy had relaxed the long drive back to the house, but now she was back to trembling and tensing up. Her shoulder muscles ached and her jaw was clenched. Her eyes were wide and her hand was clutching Shadow's across the bench seat in the back.

_The lamp Clarisse sets out…_

Amy watched for it.

When it showed up, so did the house. Little by little, the house's outline appeared until suddenly they passed it in one big swoop. Amy glanced back at it with a frightful glance.

She wanted to hop out and run in to sleep with Clarisse in the house. She needed comfort and she didn't get it from Shadow, Sonic, or Sarah. It just wouldn't do. Amy needed to _get out_ of there. Something was terribly wrong.

_Something's not right…_

Her eyes flashed to each side of the cornfield.

_Something's wrong. We're in trouble. This doesn't feel right._

But nothing appeared. She glanced back and forward, all around the van, but there were no yellow eyes. There was nothing to fear.

_Maybe Charlotte and Lorena _were _just joking—for Halloween laughs._

Amy breathed out in relief and slumped against the seat. Her jaw relaxed and her hand loosened against Shadow's. Red eyes glanced at her with concern. "Are you okay, Rose?"

"I'm fine," she breathed out.

The van drove along the bumpy road. Clarisse's house was now just a lamp from her porch. The cornfields surrounded the van while Sonic drove expertly. He wasn't a lead foot, but he wasn't particularly slow either. They hit another bump.

"Could you take it easy, Dynamite?" Sarah asked, clutching onto the center console while sitting in the passenger seat. "We don't have anywhere important to be right now."

"Sorry," Sonic apologized. "It's just how I drive."

Shadow rolled his eyes in the back while Amy gently grinned. Suddenly, they hit another bump. A _rough _bump.

_POP!_

The van started to whir while Sonic cursed under his breath and stared at the steering wheel. They came to a slow stop in the center of the dirt road. None of them had to ask. It was thanks to Sonic's poor driving that they were now stuck in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cornfields, and probably going to have to walk the rest of the way.

Amy groaned while hitting her head against the head rest. "Please tell me we have a spare..."

"Nope."

They were stuck there on the cornfield road with a popped tire.

_Defenseless and vulnerable._

* * *

><p><strong>The story of Charlotte and Lorena is based on a TRUE STORY. At least I believe so. I saw this site for Michigan called, like, 'theweirdstateofmichigan' or something like that and that story was among some, but I just thought about it while writing this chapter and decided to put it in.<strong>

_Next chapter's uber duber long (hopefully) so you get a long preview. And it's not even the scariest part. XD_

_~.~_

_Preview for next chapter:_

"_Would you relax, Ames?" Sonic sauntered along the dirt road, hogging up the middle while holding Sarah's hand effortlessly. "Haven't you ever heard of a moonlight stroll?"_

_It only reminded Amy of the full moon hanging over their heads. Or at least, it looked full still. Several days had passed since they arrived, it was probably barely full. Amy frowned at Sonic's attempt to cheer her up, but walking through a deserted road between fields of corn in the middle of the night was not charming or anything she had wanted to endure._

"_When I picture a moonlight stroll, Sonic, trust me, I'm not picturing this. This is creepy," Amy whispered the last part while squeezing Shadow's hand. _

"_Relax, Rose," Shadow mumbled against her cheek before pecking it softly and comfortingly. "Everything's fine, we're not even that far from the house anymore."_

_Snap._

_Sonic jerked to a halt and watched the corn sway back and forth in the light breeze. "Did you hear that?"_

_Sarah was awfully close to the hero now, looking at the other side of the corn field. Amy whimpered and cowered beside Shadow who stood his ground, glancing through the fields of corn. He was the only one of the group not shaking at the moment._

_His red eyes had been trained to look over his surroundings for any dangers or threats. This wasn't any different. He easily swooped the darkness and saw nothing but corn. "Hmph," he grunted and was about to speak when something of color stopped him._

_Shadow glanced to his left and saw piercing yellow eyes staring up at him. They reached about to his thigh and Shadow stood a good six feet._

_He froze, unsure of what to do. Red eyes watched yellow. One had irises the size of the moon, the other was in slits, watching the four in the road like it was calculating something out._

_Sonic's heavy panting was heard as he searched the field. "Where is it, Shadow?"_

"_Right…there…" Shadow gritted his teeth while his three companions looked in his direction before reaching to the yellow eyes._

_He felt Amy's nails dig into his skin and he suddenly realized why she was on edge at the party and in the van. She was afraid of this thing popping up, and that's exactly what it did. "It's just an, umm…" Shadow licked his lips and watched the creature blink, "…a raccoon or something."_

_But the next move the hidden interloper did, proved Shadow wrong. Utterly wrong._

_Slowly, inch by inch, the eyes rose until they towered over them and hit the tip of the corn leaves. Ears spiked out from the field and were outlined with a broad forehead from the moon. A snarl erupted from its throat._

_Sonic let out a raspy breath, "Raccoon my ass."_

_~.~_

_Arrivederci!_

_UPDATE: I won't be updating Wednesday night. I keep coughing and it's annoying me while I write, so I haven't gotten that far. In other words, I'm sick and that's affecting my writing. Plus, I'm very tired so I keep nodding off (literally) and my brain isn't think correctly, so the next chapter will have lots of edited stuff before I send it out for you guys to read. I'll hopefully get the next chapter done tomorrow, including another, or two on Friday so it still ends on the 31st. Idk, I just barely got sick and I'm not feeling well. This sucks..._


	8. Yellow Eyes

**STH © SEGA**

**Sarah and Clarisse belong to me, BlackPetals23.**

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Eight:**

**Yellow Eyes**

Sonic sighed while looking at the busted tire. "I hate to say it, guys, but…"

"You don't expect us to _walk_, do you?" Sarah nearly screeched while leaning up against the van door.

Green eyes met brown. "Yes. I am."

"I hate you."

Sonic wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled amiably. "I know you do. You hate me so much, you adore me."

"Let's go," Shadow broke between the two and started walking along the dirt road.

Sonic glanced at Sarah before offering his hand, "My lady?"

"I'm fine, I don't need to hold your hand," Sarah scoffed and started walking. She stopped after a while—Shadow was farther ahead now and leaving them behind—before glancing back at Sonic and holding out her hand.

Sonic wore a smug smirk on his face while loping over to her.

All the while, Amy was resting against the van like Sarah had. Only, it wasn't really called resting. It was more like freaking out. Her hands shook while Shadow called, "Rose!"

He stared back, walking backwards, and all Amy could think about was that something was out there in the darkness. And they were in the darkness too.

She ran to catch up with them. By the time she got to Shadow's side, Sarah and Sonic were ahead of them a little ways, in the center of the dirt road. She grasped Shadow's hand and huddled near his side.

It was only then that Amy realized why people were actually afraid of the dark. They weren't afraid of the darkness itself. They weren't afraid it would swallow them up like kids learned about black holes. It wasn't like that.

People were scared of being in the dark only because of what the darkness could hold.

Though most of the time, it was nothing but their imaginations, it proved to be dangerous at other times. This time it was real, and Amy felt it. She trembled against the ground and shivered against every breeze.

This wasn't her imagination.

While the four traveled deeper into the darkness, away from Clarisse's house and closer to the Funhouse, the thickness of the humidity in the air grew. The stench of something horrid only grew the closer they came to the house.

But there was still something blocking their way, and it wasn't the long walk through the cornfields. It was moving rapidly with a beating heart and heavy pants.

_Hunting its prey._

* * *

><p>"Would you relax, Ames?" Sonic sauntered along the dirt road, hogging up the middle while holding Sarah's hand effortlessly. "Haven't you ever heard of a moonlight stroll?"<p>

It only reminded Amy of the full moon hanging over their heads. Or at least, it looked full still. Several days had passed since they arrived, it was probably barely full. Amy frowned at Sonic's attempt to cheer her up, but walking through a deserted road between fields of corn in the middle of the night was not charming or anything she had wanted to endure.

"When I picture a moonlight stroll, Sonic, trust me, I'm not picturing this. This is creepy," Amy whispered the last part while squeezing Shadow's hand.

"Relax, Rose," Shadow mumbled against her cheek before pecking it softly and comfortingly. "Everything's fine, we're not even that far from the house anymore."

Snap.

Sonic jerked to a halt and watched the corn sway back and forth in the light breeze. "Did you hear that?"

Sarah was awfully close to the hero now, looking at the other side of the corn field. Amy whimpered and cowered beside Shadow who stood his ground, glancing through the fields of corn. He was the only one of the group not shaking at the moment.

His red eyes had been trained to look over his surroundings for any dangers or threats. This wasn't any different. He easily swooped the darkness and saw nothing but corn. "Hmph," he grunted and was about to speak when something of color stopped him.

Shadow glanced to his left and saw piercing yellow eyes staring up at him. They reached about to his thigh and Shadow stood a good six feet.

He froze, unsure of what to do. Red eyes watched yellow. One had irises the size of the moon, the other was in slits, watching the four in the road like it was calculating something out.

Sonic's heavy panting was heard as he searched the field. "Where is it, Shadow?"

"Right…there…" Shadow gritted his teeth while his three companions looked in his direction before reaching to the yellow eyes.

He felt Amy's nails dig into his skin and he suddenly realized why she was on edge at the party and in the van. She was afraid of this thing popping up, and that's exactly what it did. "It's just an, umm…" Shadow licked his lips and watched the creature blink, "…a raccoon or something."

But the next move the hidden interloper did prove Shadow wrong. Utterly wrong.

Slowly, inch by inch, the eyes rose until they towered over them and hit the tip of the corn leaves. Ears spiked out from the field and were outlined with a broad forehead from the moon. A snarl erupted from its throat.

Sonic let out a raspy breath, "Raccoon my ass."

"Run…" Shadow breathed out before glancing at Sonic, "Sonic, run!"

Amy was scooped up suddenly, staring at the yellow eyes. They left in a black blur and she was left to wonder why they hadn't run in super speed to begin with, but she hadn't time to ask. Sonic was beside them, carrying Sarah with a worried look on his face.

"Shadow!" Amy gasped while he came to a halt and she was facing the house. "We can't just stay here!"

Sonic ran up the porch and swung the door open. He frantically looked back at Amy. "_That_ is what Kelly Jenkin's sons saw?!"

"I guess," Shadow said, ushering Amy up the porch quickly while Sarah was shoved into the house.

Sonic shut the door and locked it, rushing over to the curtains and pulling them closed. He locked the windows and ran upstairs to do the same. Sarah sat on the couch with shaky fingers. Amy looked at Shadow with a scared expression. "Shadow, we can't stay here! It'll come back, it lives here!"

"Rose, calm down. If the boys did this and weren't injured, we won't be either. Plus, we're fighters; we do this thing for a living."

Amy only shook her head while he held onto her shoulders. "No, we don't, Shadow! We don't go around looking for supernatural creatures that shouldn't exist but do! I wasn't crazy! And neither were those college students that came here either! This thing is real!"

"Wait…" Shadow made a calming down motion with his hands. "Say that again, Rose? College students came here? They lived here?"

"No," Amy responded. "Once the story got out, people started to come at night to see if anything was up with the house, like if it was haunted. It's been called the Funhouse ever since. I talked to these college girls who said they came here one night and saw that…_that thing!_"

Shadow didn't speak. Instead, he looked at her with caution while glancing at the door and licking his lips frightfully.

"Shadow, this isn't safe. The creature _got in the house_!"

"It knows how to open doors…"

It wasn't Shadow or Amy who spoke while Sonic came down the stairs. Sonic turned his head to Sarah and whined, "You can't be serious…"

Sarah wasn't facing them. She only stared at the floor with broad eyes. "It knows how to get in the house…The boys probably locked the front door…but they were kids—kids don't like scary places like the basement. They wouldn't have gone down to the basement, would they?" she turned around to stare at her friends.

Sonic shrugged, seeming calmer than before. "If it does know how to get inside, I'll lock the door down there, somehow, okay?"

"Do it," Shadow stated, "Now. We'll find that damn closet the boys stayed in and wait for you there."

Sonic nodded. Sarah got on her knees while still on the couch. "What? Sonic, you're crazy. You can't go down there by yourself!"

The blue hero breathed in heavily and looked at Shadow before they mutually nodded. Shadow sighed. "You and Amy find the closet, Sarah. Sonic and I will go down to the basement and be back up shortly. We've already wasted enough time. If what Amy says is true—"

"They saw it just outside the house in the woods, standing up like we did. The boys said it was only four feet though," Amy said dreadfully. "That must mean it was crouching in front of them…I don't want to know how close it got to them…"

"Rose," Shadow held her shoulders again. "Go with Sarah and find the closet. It must be down here."

"What if we don't notice it?" Sarah asked.

Shadow stared at her. "Then find someplace else to hide."

"Why can't we just leave?" Amy whimpered. "It can't catch you guys when you run."

"Amy," Sonic said, "If this thing attacked the house, it's going to come after people. It's stopping Clarisse from renting this place to make ends meet. It could start wandering around when no one else shows up. If we don't stop this thing, it might go after Clarisse."

Amy swallowed before nodding. "Fine…" she whispered and Sarah grabbed her arm, dragging her to begin in the kitchen.

Shadow turned around to see Sonic ready and standing by the hallway door to the basement. He closed his eyes before sighing. "Let's do this then."

"I just have one question," Sonic said while he grabbed the knob of the door to the basement with a flashlight in his hands.

"What is it?"

Sonic cracked a small smile. "Do you have any silver bullets?"

* * *

><p>"This can't be it, it's just an empty pantry," Sarah stated and shut the door to the only room in the kitchen. "Plus it doesn't have a lock. A child would run to a door with a lock."<p>

"Maybe it is upstairs," Amy thought while standing in front of the kitchen.

"Yeah—"

_AHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

Sarah clutched Amy's wrist in a quick motion. Amy gasped while Sarah fought off a scream. The pink hedgehog shook off her nerves and whispered, "I think it's here…"

"It's getting closer…"

"Really close."

"It's smart if it knows we're inside," Sarah muttered. "Then again, it's smart if it can stand like a man, walk on all fours too, _and _open doors. This is just putting its nose to use."

"How'd it _get _here?" Amy asked silently.

Sarah could only shrug.

There was a moment's pause and then there was silence. They waited to hear anything else from outside, but there was nothing. Sarah licked her lips and gulped. "Let's continue looking then…"

"Yeah…"

~~~.~~~

Sonic hated the basement the first trip down, so he had no clue why he volunteered to go down again to lock a door that was missing a lock.

"Maybe we could find some super glue?" Sonic said, looking at the door knob while flashing a light to it.

Shadow was rummaging through the fallen cans. "I don't know, Sonic. _Perhaps _you should've thought of something before saying you'd lock the door."

"They should have a lock on the door to the hallway," Sonic grumbled. "Then again, the damn thing would probably just break that lock, too."

Shadow didn't answer. He only kept looking for anything to stop a door from opening. No doubt the creature—whatever the hell it was—was strong and could easily open it. And yet, Shadow could be incorrect and the monster could be weak. But a really smart creature nonetheless and it would only find a new way to get back in.

_AHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

Sonic paused and looked up at the ceiling to where the first floor of the house was, "Shadow…Why did it come inside the house to begin with? Why didn't it just wait until they went outside again? If it could bust down this lock on this door, why didn't it do it to the closet the boys were in?"

Shadow froze his movements and stared at the wall.

_Why did it come inside?_

_Well, to probably eat the guests. _

_Why didn't it take off the knob to the door if it could take the lock off the basement one?_

_It might've not been the thing who did it. It could've been Clarisse with some type of tool that made those marks, like a screwdriver. I just don't know how or why she would make scratches into the door. But if it did take the lock off, why didn't it just bust down a flimsy closet door?_

The realization hit Shadow like a ton of bricks.

"Because there is no closet…"

"What? What do you mean there's no closet?" Sonic asked worriedly, pointing the flashlight to Shadow while standing by the door.

"Think about it, Sonic," Shadow glanced back at him with an annoyed gaze from the sudden light. Sonic lowered it and waited. "Stories being spread are like a big game of Telephone. The original story from the boys must've not had a closet. They must've hidden somewhere else."

"What about their mother?" Sonic flailed his arms out. "Why didn't the werewolf just walk up the stairs, go into her room, and eat her? Did he not smell her?"

"She could've been lying, Sonic. She could've kept the rest of the story to herself. Some people around the town might've made fun of her for it so she kept it to herself. Maybe she saw something the night it broke in, too. Hell, it might've not broken in at all!" Shadow stood up and growled. "This is all just pathetic and it's a joke! Whatever or whoever this is, we're bringing them down _tonight_. I'm not going to stand by this stupid Halloween prank and be made a fool."

Sonic put his hands on his hips and motioned Shadow over. "Then help me put the lock back because I just found it under the stairs."

"What?" Shadow stopped his ranting and followed Sonic's light.

The broken lock and screws were indeed under the stairs. They were scattered, but they were under the stairs nonetheless.

"Alright. Finally something to work with that doesn't sound completely bizarre."

~~~.~~~

"Stay low."

"Sarah—"

"There's no closet, Amy, this trunk will have to do," Sarah said while closing Amy in on the trunk in Sonic's bedroom. "Who knows, imaginably, this could really be where the boys hid."

That possibility made Amy feel safer. She slunk down in the trunk and fit expertly. Sarah had too wide of hips to fit in the trunk, so it was Amy that went. She let Sarah close the lid and there was a secured lock.

"I'm setting the key right here on the drawer," Sarah placed the key to the trunk on the drawer top. "Remember; don't make a sound, Amy."

"_I got it, Sarah_," Amy's changed voice came out through the trunk walls.

Sarah nodded to herself and rushed out of the room. Finding another hiding spot would prove harder than imagined. But she figured the boys really hid in the trunk in Sonic's bedroom—which must've been their room.

_So… _Sarah thought to herself. _If they ran up the stairs to hide, why didn't the thing follow? Why didn't the werewolf just walk up the steps, eat their mother, and leave? They couldn't have locked the trunk, though with both of them inside. So…that means…_

She glanced around in the upstairs hallway. "There's another hiding spot somewhere around here…"

~~~.~~~

"Got the screwdriver?"

"It's in my hand, Sonic."

Shadow and Sonic worked together to get the lock on, but working together seemed to be impossible for the duo. This was why they made better rivals than besties. You know this when they can't even put together a _lock on a door_.

"It's a very simple procedure, Shadow, but if you'll let me—"

"I think I can turn the screws, Sonic. I'm not a child; I wasn't raised in a barn."

Sonic rolled his eyes. The flashlight was buried into the crook of his neck and squeezed via his shoulder. He was hunched over the door with Shadow and he flashed the light on where the lock was supposed to be.

Shadow lined up the spots of the lock and put it in place. "Where are the screws, Sonic?"

"I thought you had them."

"I couldn't possibly have them when both of my hands are with the lock!" Shadow hissed lowly.

Sonic glared right back, looking rather awkward in such a posture. "Listen here, mister—"

"Just make sure the thing isn't here yet," Shadow said, grabbing the screws from the floor.

"Fine, fine," Sonic raised the flashlight up a notch so it still shined for Shadow to see. Sonic could make out the window on top of the door and the emptiness on the other side. There was nothing staring back at him. "We're clear. Keep working."

He glanced down and noticed Shadow trying to get a screw. It was so small and Shadow was having a hard time with it that he cursed under his breath. Sonic sighed, "In your own time, but quickly."

Shadow grabbed the screw while simultaneously glaring up at Sonic. "_Listen here, mister_," he mocked and stood straight up, matching Sonic with their regular height. "I—"

There was a slight rattling sound. Like a rattling of metal.

They glanced down at the door knob. Rusty and old and slightly out of the place since the screws were loose, the door knob started to turn. Shadow reached out in a blink of an eye and latched onto the door knob with wide eyes.

"I thought you said it was clear," Shadow said while his eyes trailed up from the door knob to the claw marks.

"I did," Sonic said, following his gaze. "It couldn't have possibly showed up that fast and not made…" Their eyes together looked up from the claw marks to the window through the door, "…a sound…"

Yellow eyes were staring at them menacingly.

Sonic's mouth remained agape, "Huh…"

* * *

><p>Sarah had finally found the hiding spot. It was another trunk, but in Sonic's closet.<p>

This trunk didn't lock, however. So Sarah had to hope for the best and pray that their werewolf buddy didn't know how to flip open trunks too.

They had been calmly sitting in the trunks when a door slammed shut. She heard intently with her ears while Amy was doing the same thing in the other trunk.

Closer to the door, Amy hitched her breath and listened.

A door slammed. There was shuffling of feet, pushing, hitting the wall. What on Mobius was going on out there?

Amy furrowed her eyebrows.

_What's happening out there?_

~~~.~~~

"Move it!" Sonic hissed and shoved Shadow out the basement and into the hallway wall.

He crashed into it with a large thud while the door knob downstairs turned. Sonic rushed around and slammed the door shut. The blue hero ran into Shadow just then and they grunted while disentangling from one another.

"Get off of me," Shadow growled, pushing Sonic's face away with the palm of his hand.

"I'm trying," Sonic pushed him against the wall again and he made a noisier thud.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, I swear—"

A deep growl cut Shadow's threat off, and for once Sonic wished Shadow was able to finish his sentence. The cobalt hedgehog pushed Shadow hurriedly towards the front door. "GO, SHADOW!"

The hallway door to the basement rattled and banged suddenly while Shadow sprinted across the living room with Sonic on his heels. He ripped open the front door just as the basement door opened. Sonic shoved Shadow through and glanced back.

Yellow eyes were still gleaming in the darkness, and it only encouraged Sonic to run.

They left the door open, but neither of them had a plan. Sonic was just keeping pace with Shadow while they ran around out back and behind the wood pile, being able to look across the entire yard while the motion sensing lights flicked on.

Shadow and Sonic took deep breaths to calm their nerves. Typically, they wouldn't be nervous around anything, but this thing—this supernatural monster wasn't normal. So, it was totally cool for them to freak out in their heads without being called wusses.

"Fifty bucks," Sonic caught his breath easily, "says Knuckles would be crying by now."

Shadow shook his head while staring at the ground, both hiding behind the wood pile. "No…He would be freaking out like us, but he would not be crying. A hundred rings says that Rouge would be, though."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "We're talking dollars and you wanna bet rings? I don't think so, buster. Rings are essential, dollars are for bets."

Shadow rolled his eyes as he leaned against the wood, "Sure, Faker."

"Really?" Sonic put his elbow up against the cut piece sticking out. "We're not past this yet?"

"Hey," Shadow looked over the top of the wood pile since it was fairly tall and glanced around the lit yard. "The lights are dimming…"

Sonic followed his gaze and searched the area. "…Where is it?"

It only took them a moment to realize one large factor that would make a hungry werewolf stay inside a house. Sonic stared at Shadow with wide eyes while he gripped the piece of wood he had been leaning on.

"_The girls_."

* * *

><p>Amy had been breathing normally up until she heard slow creaks of the stairs.<p>

_The front door opened and Sonic was yelling. Something bad happened, but what? _

Another creak and Amy's eyes broadened.

_They left us! Shadow and Sonic left us and now this thing is walking up the stairs! Oh, God, no!_

There were heavy pants two minutes later and the creaks only got louder. Amy didn't dare speak to Sarah because she would've had to yell, and the beast would've surely heard her. So, Amy kept quiet and closed her eyes.

She slightly hoped that Shadow would rescue her, or at least _someone _other than the thing she was running from. She really didn't like to be the damsel in distress, but this was completely different. She was kidnapped this time. She wasn't trapped either.

Amy Rose had just fallen victim to this. And maybe in some cases it _was _a trap.

_I can't help but think of all the possibilities of how this werewolf got here! _

_I'm starting to worry that Clarisse put it here. Since there are no humans on Mobius and just Mobians…it's got to be a Mobian looking creature. But it didn't look like that. It looked full on werewolf._

There was a growl and Amy held her hand over her mouth. Heavy steps signified he was in the room and searching. Something butted against the trunk and nudged it a little. Amy kept still though.

Another growl erupted and his footsteps moved on. Amy started to worry about Sarah since her trunk didn't lock. The werewolf hadn't tried to open the trunk—maybe he didn't know how. That was a good sign, obviously, but a little nudge on Sarah's trunk could possibly pop open the lid, or at least move it enough so the creature would know it was capable of being lifted open.

But after that, everything went silent.

Amy waited for what felt like an eternity. But thankfully, the boards started to creak again. That would be a good sign since that meant Sarah hadn't been found yet. The beast was probably just roaming around on Sonic's bed and sniffing.

The rose flower was somewhat appalled she could be so calm in such a scenario.

Her right mind told her she should be freaking out, but somehow in all of this, she succeeded at calming her nerves and didn't lose her sanity or start screaming. All in all, it was a very short triumph.

There was movement on her trunk unexpectedly.

She nearly gasped but held it in, keeping her hand firmly latched over her muzzle. The movement continued, like something was patting the trunk.

And then suddenly, it opened up.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Would you relax?!" Sarah hissed, whacking her while the light in the bedroom turned on. "It's fine, it's just Barley."

"What?" Amy asked.

"It's Barley, look."

Amy glanced over the tub of the trunk and was immediately met with a slobbering mouth. The dog looked like a dog, not like a beast. She couldn't fathom the idea that Barley was the one behind all of this. It just couldn't be true.

For starters, Barley wasn't able to stand up on his hind legs.

The large dog over looked her, sniffing her and then whining while he looked for food. His dark pelt was coated in dried mud and his dark eyes glanced between Sarah and Amy. The lime green hedgehog let out a heavy breath.

"I swear, I've never been so scared in my life." She looked at Amy abruptly. "If you ask me to watch your dog, don't count on it."

Amy lightly smiled. "It's a deal."

After she said that, Sarah pulled her up with Barley circling them slowly, wagging his thick tail. He panted heavily and scratched at the floor before yawning. Sarah gazed down at him and sighed. "What are we going to do?"

"Give Barley back to Clarisse and get out of here," Amy finished, making Sarah look up at her. "Sarah, Barley can't stand on his hind legs, so that means something else is out there still. It just might not care for Barley because they're technically related species."

Sarah nodded slowly. "Alright…Hey…where are the guys?"

There was a sudden rush of footsteps and Sonic rammed into the wall, staring at them wide-eyed. Shadow was right behind him. Sonic stopped short and stared at the dog with squinted eyes. "Don't tell me that's Barley."

"It's Barley," the girls said simultaneously.

"But there's still something out there," Amy responded.

Shadow stood beside her and surveyed the room. "The motion sensing lights are off…He didn't follow us. I thought he would," he looked at the wall in disappointment. "Whatever it was must've left."

"It's funny," Sonic rubbed Barley's head. "It's like…It's like he never made it past the hallway door…"

"I wonder," Amy stared at Barley with thought. She glanced up at her friends and smiled. "C'mon…let's get to bed."

"What? Are you crazy?" Sonic said. "I don't think so!"

"Sonic…" Amy put her hand on his shoulder. "We're safe. It's fine. Everything is all right."

It seemed the table was turned then and that Amy wasn't the insane one anymore. Sonic blinked at her before opening his mouth. He shook it, put his hand up, and collapsed on his bed. Sarah turned to her. "What makes you so sure?"

"I'm going on a wild guess of generosity between two species," Amy stared at Barley as she spoke. "But I can't be certain until I ask Clarisse a few things."

"We'll call her up first thing in the morning," Shadow stated. "Then we're leaving this place for good."

"Sounds fine by me," Sarah muttered and crawled next to Sonic. She glanced at Amy and smiled. "I'll leave our bedroom for you and Shadow. I'm sure you won't mind starting where you left off on that dance floor."

Amy had a crimson face all the way to the bedroom across the hall.

~~~.~~~

"You shut the front door?" Amy asked, watching as Shadow got in beside her.

"Yes—it's thoroughly locker, as well."

Amy gently smiled and cuddled in all of the blankets. "Good…"

"Amy?"

"Hm?"

"Why do you…" Red eyes held confusion. "Why do you think we're safe?"

Amy sighed against his arm. "Shadow…When we wake up in the morning perfectly fine, you can thank me."

* * *

><p><em>Confusing? I thought so too, but I'm too sick to care! Literally…I'm coughing and sniffling like crazy—not to mention I keep nodding off. Two chapters tomorrow, they'll be shorter though so whew! *wipes sweat off brow*<em>

_Everything will come together and when it does, you'll probably be disappointed yet not. ;) Riddle me that one._

_There will be no preview for the last two chapters. Excitement is over for now. FYI, this chapter's ending wasn't edited in the SLIGHTEST so I apologize for any mistakes, but I'm sure you can imagine them fixed in your head. Thank you._

_Arrivederci!_


	9. Unimaginable

**STH © SEGA**

**Sarah and Clarisse belong to me, BlackPetals23.**

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Nine:**

**Unimaginable**

Amy rolled over and whacked something hard with her arm. She heard a slight grunt and then a hand was pulling her arm off.

"Rose…Wake up…Amy."

She had never heard Shadow the Hedgehog's tired voice in the morning. Nor had she ever seen him waking up with bed quills.

It was definitely a sight to behold. The image made him less intimidating.

Her green eyes watched him sit up in the bed and stretch. Shadow yawned and smacked his lips.

Just the sound of him being like any other regular Mobian made Amy remember what happened that night. She shot up out of bed and glanced around the room. Sonic's snores filled the hallway, though they could've easily been Sarah's instead. Amy didn't know and she didn't want to find out, just in case the monster was in the house still.

_Wait…It was Barley…_

Amy leaned over upon hearing a huff near the floor. There, lying on the floor and sleeping, was Barley. The old dog looked brittle and tired to the bone. The pink hedgehog smiled softly and glanced at Shadow before stretching her arms and moaning while falling back in bed.

Shadow was looking at the window while the morning sky peeked through. The house was quiet, but it was a good quiet.

"I'll take that 'thank you' right about now."

* * *

><p>"Okay," Sonic said while eating his bacon and occasionally sneaking some pieces to the patient Barley, "What was your theory, Ames?"<p>

"Well, something is still out there because it stood up. Unless Barley leans against the door, that could be explainable, but," Amy trailed off while pouring the orange juice into four cups.

Sarah, who was seated at the table, motioned to Amy, "But, there was still that thing standing up in the cornfield. Its outline was too much like a regular werewolf you'd see on the internet," she turned her gaze to Shadow and Sonic. "Thus, _something _is out there and capable of standing on two legs like a man."

"So, werewolf is still in mind?" Sonic inquired.

"Yes," Amy nodded and sat down beside them. "Only because of the standing scenes, though, because Barley can't do that. Look at him, he's ancient."

Sonic paused and cleared his throat, his elbows on the table. "Alright…What do we tell Clarisse?"

~~~.~~~

After breakfast, Amy called Clarisse.

"_What happened last night?"_

"We found Barley," Amy answered the old raccoon. "Clarisse, listen, there's something out here that can stand on two legs like a man, but it's not."

"_Amy, there's no such thing…"_

"Clarisse, there is. Please, all four of us saw it. They thought I was going crazy—ask around and you'll find people who've been sneaking onto your property without permission at night just to see this house and its mystery!"

"_There's no mystery those nosy college kids. Listen, Barley just loves that house. Normally, he'll get lost there and wind up in the basement somehow. He can't even open doors, so I really don't know how he gets there."_

Amy hummed. "Hm…Clarisse…Did Barley grow up in that house?"

"_Sure thing. Right before I moved into this one, he was a young pup. Oh, he loved that house. There was the vent he'd sleep over in the kitchen on winter nights, and then he'd crawl upstairs to my old bedroom and sleep on the floor next to my bed. He liked to eat the mice in the basement, too."_

"Clarisse, I hate to say it, but we're leaving today," Amy changed subjects. "Shadow's commanded all of us to start packing and we're not going to argue. Something happened last night that's best to be left among the four of us. If word gets out of what happened last night, Clarisse, we're afraid you'll have lots more uninvited guests."

"_Well, alright, dear. Whatever you want, you only rented for a week anyway. I'll drive down there right now."_

Amy smiled and leaned against the wall, watching Sarah bump along the staircases with her suitcase. "Sounds like a plan, Clarisse," she laughed lightly in her sentence.

"_Oh, and Amy?"_

"Hm?"

"_What exactly _did_ happen last night?"_

Amy leaned against her back and stared at the front door. The curtains were still closed and the door was still locked. None of them had been outside yet, but everything seemed to be calm.

"Clarisse…You could say it was unimaginable."

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><p><em>One more chapter after this.<em>

_Short chapter, I know, but so is next chapter. I honestly don't see why I don't put them together, but I go all OCD and I can't stand a story ending on odd numbers for some reason. Like an odd number of chapters. *shrugs* _


	10. Secret

**STH © SEGA**

**Sarah and Clarisse belong to me, BlackPetals23.**

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><p><strong>Happy Halloween!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Ten:**

**Secret**

Shadow trudged outside and stood on the porch.

Red eyes scanned the area: the front yard, the beginning of the cornfields across the driveway, the sides of the house, and the woods on the sides of the house. He grunted and pulled the suitcase when nothing out the ordinary seemed to pop up.

The van was still on the road however. Way back there.

Shadow stopped and frowned at the thought.

_Well, damn…I nearly forgot._

He turned around and ended his short trip by hauling the suitcase back inside.

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><p>Clarisse showed up abruptly and didn't mind calling a repair man she knew in Center Mobius. It was take him a while to arrive, so she welcomed herself inside her old home and sat on the couch.<p>

Amy started up a nice beverage, seeming to be the only Mobian with nice manners, whereas Sarah lounged, Sonic made unnecessary noises, and Shadow was just plain rude by ignoring Clarisse's presence.

"Amy, what you said over the phone," Clarisse started, grabbing the cup of milk from Amy, "seemed a little extreme. I mean, I've been living here my whole life, and nothing out of the ordinary has ever happened to me."

The rose hedgehog grinned softly while staring at the floor, seating herself near the raccoon. "Well, Clarisse…We know there's something out there."

Clarisse's expression changed to a dull look with a frown on her muzzle. Amy stared at her, waiting for the old Mobian to react somehow. "Other people do too. They haven't said anything. They've kept it a secret. I talked to some people at the party were at before our van broke down. They said they remember seeing that thing chasing them. Clarisse, this could be potentially dangerous—"

"Oh, Roody never meant to hurt anybody!" Clarisse wailed, clinging onto Amy's arm.

Shadow shot up in surprise while Sonic wore the same expression. Sarah grasped her cup tightly in her hand. Amy stared at Clarisse with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Roody…" Clarisse sighed, her ears folding back while she put her hands in her lap. "I used to play in the woods when I was younger and full of energy. We had dogs then. Anyway, I walked along a trail one day and just stumbled across a den. I didn't think much of it until I saw something moving in the night from my upstairs window.

"I tracked it down for months on end; my parents thought I was with an imaginary friend, and at the time I let them believe it." Clarisse glanced up at Amy slowly. "I know he doesn't hurt anyone. It's Barley that's the issue. He loves the house so much; he always gets lost on the way here. Roody just…helps him into the house."

"Roody?" Shadow breathlessly said. "You have a goddamn monster out there and you named it _Roody_?"

Clarisse shrugged. "I've been meaning to move back in this house, but the heater doesn't work anymore. With my old bones, I can't afford to take trips to the woods and cut lumber."

Amy sighed and grasped the raccoon's hand. "Clarisse…You should've told us."

"No one would believe me," Clarisse shook her head. "Plus, I don't know _what _Roody is. He just…showed up one day when I was about eight and he's been here ever since."

"He's been alive that long?" Sonic asked, curiosity caked in his tone.

Clarisse nodded, "As far as I know of. Why?"

"Well," Sarah gritted her teeth. "We don't think Roody is exactly a dog or a wolf or anything Mobian-wise. More or less…a werewolf."

Clarisse snorted. "You're kidding me. You four are going even crazier than I thought I was!"

Amy clasped onto her arm before she could get up. "Please, Clarisse, listen to us. This creature had to have stood seven feet high, but it could also run on four legs easily. It was lanky and ears pointed like a dog in the moonlight. Bright yellow eyes that followed you everywhere. Claw marks on the door. Clarisse, it's the _only _option we have left. A dog or a wolf doesn't cut it."

"He can't be…" Clarisse said. "Werewolves don't exist."

Shadow shrugged. "Fine, let's stay here until dark, leave Barley beside the basement door and see if this werewolf/Roody creature does or doesn't show up. If so, my guess is he's only there to open a damn door."

"He's smart," Clarisse whispered and stared at Shadow. "I've always known Roody was smart. He could open doors, flick the lights on and off, open the fridge door, turn on the sink or the lamp—he even picked the phone up once in the night. I was sitting on the stairs and watching him while Barley raced up to greet me. Once he saw me…he just left. It was always too dark to tell what exactly he looked like or what he was, but I remember when he held the phone and his yellow eyes looked at it. He was standing, but I remember…"

"He walked to the front door, opened it, and ran out on four legs?" Sonic guessed.

Clarisse only needed to nod. Sonic sighed and looked at his laced fingers. "Well…what do we do?"

Amy leaned back and put her head against the couch, closing her eyes. "Clarisse, you're positive Roody isn't harmful?"

"Yes. He never hurt me or Barley. He was just curious about the house and helpful to Barley."

"How about this," Sarah spoke, "we leave, keep this thing a secret, forget it ever happened, and continue living our normal lives?"

"Keeping this a secret would be better than letting it get out into the city," Shadow muttered in agreement. "Clarisse's property would just be filled with pranksters and other college students looking for thrill. This Roody creature won't find it entertaining and he might start lashing out."

"He did chase the college graduates," Amy noted. "Right until you see Clarisse's porch lamp—which was where we saw him last night when we started walking."

"So…"

The five all stared at one another until a decision was made in their minds. It was an equal agreement with no debate. It was a common task to do and to complete.

_It was a secret._

* * *

><p>"Last one," Shadow huffed while he set the suitcase down gently into the back of the working van.<p>

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Sure, throw my suitcase in there like you're in the discus Olympics and set Amy's down gently like you're a decent mail man."

Shadow stared at her. "I hate mail men."

"Do your fucking job," Sarah muttered with a smile as they walked to the front of the van.

Amy was sitting down in the seat while the door was propped open. Sonic was leaning against the passenger door, which was close. They squinted in the afternoon heat before sharing one last glance at the house.

"I'm kind of going to miss this place," Amy sighed.

"Well, I'm not," Sonic snorted. "I'm going to be happy being able to go back to running freely and not having to keep Smartass Sarah, Crazy Amy, and Pessimist Shadow company."

"Whatever you say, Arrogant Sonic," Sarah wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pecked his cheek. She smiled at Amy. "Wanna get this show on the road?"

Amy nodded. Sarah piled in while Shadow got into the driver's side. She closed the van door and Sonic got in before Shadow could leave him there in mental hopes that Roody would get hungry for blue hedgehog.

The rose female looked out through the window and into the woods.

She would miss the home and the scenery, but she wouldn't miss Roody. No matter what Clarisse said, Amy knew she could never get used to knowing something like him was living not three hundred feet away.

For Amy, home never sounded so nice.

_Fin_

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><p><em>Guys...I just learned that I can type with my eyes closed. That's legit. And that shows how bored I can get. Well, technically, I was tired, so I was like, "I wonder if I could just rest my eyelids and still type?" and guess what?! I totally CAN. It's awesome. I'm going to be doing that more often. XD Happy Halloween!<br>_

_This story is O-V-E-R. Completed. Ended. Done. _

_Need I say more?_

_Arrivederci!_


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